The Wings of Freedom: Volume Three
by Shaded Truths
Summary: Gnocx's journey to recover his memories continues as this time he is dropped onto an island in the middle of the ocean on a world that is mostly ocean. Outside forces seek to interfere in this chapter of his story, but he meets some people who teach him the true value friends have.
1. The Man in Armor

**Me: "Hi guys! It's finally time to start posting Volume Three!"**

**PR: "Too bad it took you almost a month to write this chapter."**

**Me: :sullks: "I know, I was having a hard time with it. I am starting with an original arc and I ended up making it, short, simple, and to the point. It should last about four chapters, then we get into this worlds canon."**

**PR: "Which is?"**

**Me: "They can find out about a third of the way in."**

**PR: "Alright then, who is disclaiming?"**

**Me: Well, since I don't want to just give the world away before they read it, Gnocx shall disclaim today."**

**Gnocx walks into the room.**

**PR: "Hi!"**

**Gnocx: "Hello, it's been awhile."**

**Me: "Part of why i had trouble this chapter is because I am trying to avoid making Gnocx a Mary-Sue, and making him like me."**

**PR: :deadpans: "You guys are completely opposite, well... except for the seemingly heartless personalities and the need to get laid."**

**Me and Gnocx: :deadpan: "This again?"**

**PR: "Gnocx needs a love interest!"**

**Gnocx: "I am happy with the way things are."**

**PR: "You're just saying that because you've never had sex."**

**Me: "Just disclaim please."**

**Gnocx: "Shaded Truths owns nothing but me, I would say the fandoms names but he is being ridiculous with the secrecy."**

**Me: :glares as Gnocx links arms with PR and they walk out of the room."**

* * *

Chapter 1

The impact with the water wasn't as unpleasant as one would expect. As soon as Gnocx's dive slowed, he leisurely swam through the warm water to the surface. Once he broke the surface he resupplied his lungs with air and tried to look around.

"Leave it to the damn thing to drop me in the middle of the ocean," he said to himself as he continued his search.

He spotted what appeared to be an island in the distance, so he pulled up his hood for anonymity sake before he began the lengthy swim to land.

* * *

In a village on the island Gnocx was swimming to, the mayor, Sazar, had been enjoying his self-defined role of leader. He had been laid back with a drink while a busty woman was at his side with another. He polished off the glass he had and non to gently thrust it at her before grabbing the other glass from her.

"Fetch me another," he ordered snidely at the poor servant woman.

"Yes, of course," she said obediently before leaving.

Sazar closed his eyes and smirked. Sazar was a man of about 6 feet, had dirty blond hair that reached his shoulders, and had grey eyes. At a glance he looked like a man that people wouldn't be afraid of, however, he didn't get to be the leader of the village and therefore half of the island for nothing. He cracked an eye open as he heard approaching footsteps.

"What is it, Nicolai?" he irritably asked. "You're interrupting my relaxation."

"I just came to report that that woman has yet again refused to give up her land," Nicolai responded.

Sazar frowned at the news.

"Foolish woman," Sazar muttered. "Although I can't say I'm surprised, her and that son of hers wanting to carry on that man's dream," he finished with mockery on the last part. "No matter, we will get that land in due time, now leave me be."

Sazar turned to look back up at the sky and his eyes widened. In the air he saw a shining something streak through the air.

"What is that?" he demanded causing Nicolai to turn to the sky.

"A shooting star?" the taller man asked. "In the middle of the day?"

They watched as it appeared to get closer to the surface of the island as it flew by. Sazar got up and went to the edge of his balcony and watched as it flew over the ocean and was amazed as it seemed to disperse. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a black shape plunge into the water.

"Send Rufus with a group of our men and secure whatever it was," he ordered.

"Right away, sir," Nicolai said before he left.

_Interesting, _Sazar mused.

* * *

What must have been hours later, Gnocx found himself finally getting to a point in the water where he could stand on the sand, slowly; he waded through the water with his hood up. His arms were burning from the exertion of swimming to the island. As he made it closer, the weight of the water made itself known as his soaked coat started to feel heavier. He was able to walk out of the water and onto a small beach. Nothing was there and he began to make his plans, first to see if the island was inhabited. He decided to take a breather, leaving him to sit down onto the sand and let the water drain from him. He closed his eyes and took in the sounds of the waves and the gulls. There was something about the moment that brought to his mind a sense of nostalgia. Before he could get anything else from it, a loud noise rang out, like a shot, and the sand in front of him became an impact sight. He jumped up and looked over where the noise came from.

The sight that met him were a line of uniformed men, all with a firearm in their hands, pointing at Gnocx. The line parted and a large man walked through. This man was dressed in some sort of armor that looked as if it he was a machine. He had dark eyes with a hooked nose and Gnocx could tell right away that he spelled trouble. Gnocx thought to make a run for the forest, but to do that he would have to go through the line of militia men.

"Alright, men," the armored man addressed. "You're leader, Master Sazar wants this man brought to him so he can ascertain what shot through the sky."

The men had hesitation in their eyes but none the less agreed with variations of an affirmative.

_What the hell is this? _Gnocx thought as he jumped to the side to dodge a bullet. _This, Sazar person must have seen me in the sky, just fantastic._

"Don't let up men!" the armored man commanded.

"Roger, Mr. Rufus," the soldiers replied as they all lined up their shots again.

_If they want me alive, then why try to kill me? _Gnocx deadpanned in his own mind as he dashed for the line.

The grunts were startled that the hooded man had charged for them, resulting them wildly missing, more so than before.

"What are you idiots doing!" Rufus shouted.

"Sir, we can't kill him if the leader wants him alive," one peon tried to explain, but was smacked down by Rufus' fist.

Rufus then blinked before he looked at the man he hit.

"Oh, I guess you're right," he said dumbly.

His men fell over in shock at his stupidity and Gnocx just stared from under his hood.

"Then shoot him without killing him, you idiots!" Rufus yelled as his face did a 180 and he used his foot to stomp on his man's back.

Gnocx ran toward them as the men struggled to load there weapons. He held his hand out and a purple shockwave left him and went for the men. As it passed them, they were lifted into the air where they started to flail, but to no avail as they remained stationary.

Rufus' eyes bulged out of his head as he saw what was happening.

"What. The. Hell!" he yelled as Gnocx ran under the floating men and for the tree line.

Gnocx was almost in the clear, but Rufus managed to collect himself and moved in front of his path. He lifted a fist and brought it down to where Gnocx was as he ran in front of him. Gnocx jumped to dodge and landed with one foot on the giant appendage. He then brought his other leg back and then lashed out with it, the sole of his foot connecting with Rufus' armored chest.

"What the-" Gnocx started as he felt his foot compress with the armor on Rufus' armor.

Rufus then smirked and looked at him.

"You must have eaten a Devil Fruit, like my master, but that won't help you with me," he gloated.

"Devil Fruit?" Gnocx said more to himself then Rufus before he pushed with his foot some more.

The grin never left Rufus' face as he fell back into the sand with Gnocx's foot still on his chest.

"Playing stupid won't help," Rufus said.

The next thing Gnocx knew, the chest plate under his foot rumbled then shot up, like a spring, sending him into the air and landing on the ground behind Rufus' grounded form. Rufus laughed as he sat up and dusted himself off.

"You see, my armor is special," he explained as Gnocx got back up. "I made it myself. It takes the force of my opponent's attacks and bounces them back. Good idea, don't you think."

Gnocx didn't reply as he noticed that his zero gravity spell was wearing off, and the grunts were falling, one by one, without grace, onto the ground. Rufus then swung his giant fist again, Gnocx stepped back and watched as the fist collided with the ground, sending a small plume of sand into the air. With a flourish of his hand, he stepped forward and swung his hand down. Sword materializing on the way, onto Rufus' shoulder. He was shocked to find, however that the sword bounced off the armor. Rufus looked shocked at the sword's appearance before his face settled into a gloating smirk.

"Nice try, but it will take more than a sword to break my armor," he boasted before using his other fist to hit Gnocx straight in the chest, sending him flying a dozen feet where he crashed into the ground, body knocking more sand into the air.

_Have to get away, _Gnocx thought as he stood back up.

"Tough little space man, aren't you?" Rufus said. "Time to take you to the master."

Gnocx only pondered momentarily on the space man nickname, dismissing it as a result of his limited intelligence, before he made his sword vanish and waited as Rufus came closer. Said moron reached out, as if expecting Gnocx to come quietly. His grunts all picked up their weapons and followed their leader. Once they were all close enough, Gnocx spoke his first word in their presence.

"Stop."

Rufus didn't even have time to put on a face as he and his men were overtaken by a distortion that seemed to emanate from Gnocx's body, once it ended, they were all stationary, frozen in time. Gnocx turned and walked into the trees, disappearing into the forest before his spell could wear off.

A few minutes later, everything started to move again. Rufus' hand still moving forward, stopped when he realized there was nothing there.

"Huh?" he uttered dumbly.

His grunts behind him all were gaping and their eyes were bulging out of their heads.

"EEEEEEH?" they all exclaimed. "Where did he go?"

Rufus' expression changed to match his subordinates as he looked around like an idiot.

"What am I gonna tell master!" The armored man exclaimed with his hands on his head as he shouted at the sky.

* * *

Gnocx ran through the woods, never stopping. He eventually made it to a small clearing before he deemed himself safe.

_ The spell will have worn off by now,_ he thought as his coat vanished off his body in dark wisps. _At least it's easy enough to throw off pursuit with them not knowing my appearance._

He rotated his shoulders that were still stiff from his swim and walked out of the clearing via a dirt path that went on through more forest.

* * *

"Space man?" Sazar deadpanned at Rufus who was nervously on one knee before him, Nicolai next to him with a sweatdrop

"W-Well he fell from space didn't he?" Rufus stuttered.

"I don't know what fell from the sky you idiot that's why I asked you to investigate!" Sazar yelled as he used a metal rod to hit Rufus on the head.

"He did come out of the water though Master, he had been swimming for a real long time," Rufus tried to appease. "He got away though because he has devil fruit powers like you."

Nicolai raised a brow as Sazar narrowed his eyes.

"Describe him to me, idiot," Sazar commanded.

"Um… well…"

"Spit it out!"

"He was wearing a long black coat and it had a hood!" Rufus cowered. "I couldn't see his face, neither could my men! I'm sorry, Master Sazar."

Rufus threw his large form on the ground and begged for forgiveness, Sazar just sighed as he rubbed his hand over his face.

"Very well, alert the village folk, tell them to be on the lookout and to turn the man over to me if he is found," Sazar instructed as he sat down in a chair.

"Right away, Master," Rufus said as he backed out of the room.

"Sometimes I wonder why I put up with him," Sazar moaned as he rubbed his temples after setting his metal rod in his lap.

"Despite his intellectual failings, he is a strong fighter," Nicolai answered for him.

"True, though I will be honest the fact that this 'Space Man' has devil fruit powers is somewhat disconcerting,"

"Master, you don't actually believe he is from outer space, do you?" Nicolai asked.

"Why would you ask me such a ridiculous question?" Sazar glared. "Of course not, it's just easier to go along with his idiocy."

"Do you wish for something to be done?"

"No, I have other matters to attend to at the moment."

"The bar?"

"Yes, I need to go and visit the lovely Caroline today," he said. "That bar is sitting on the last piece of land along the shore that I do not possess, but soon shall."

"Indeed, Master," Nicolai said as Sazar stood and left the room.

* * *

Gnocx had made his way out of the forest and found himself in a small village. It was in a simple layout with a town square in the center with shops and restaurants and the residence were all located on the outside. However there was a house that looked a tad more extravagant that was on a hill overlooking the entire town. Gnocx started to walk along the streets and watched as people mingled and there were obvious visitors from aboard the boats that were docked at the docks along the shore a short distance away who were being bargained with by merchants.

His stroll took him to the shore line; strangely all the buildings along it were abandoned and boarded up. He walked along the street as the people thinned and less were in sight, left behind in the bustle more toward the center of the village. He closed his eyes as he walked and let the sounds of the ocean fill his mind once more, once again triggering a lingering sense of nostalgia, of what he can't grasp.

_Maybe I'm finally getting somewhere,_ he thought to himself as he opened his eyes. No sooner that he had, however, he heard a crash and a groan. He looked over toward the only building not boarded up, it looked to be a bar and despite it being open, it looked worse for wear. He walked around the side of the building where there was a stack of chopped wood piled high along the wall. Toward the back of the building some of the stacks seemed to have fallen apart and Gnocx saw nothing but a disorganized pile of wood away from the wall.

Remembering he heard a groan he calmly walked over and picked wood off the pile two pieces at a time. He only removed about a dozen before he revealed a tuft of brown hair. Then, pulling off a few more he revealed the dazed face of a teenage boy, no older than 16. Gnocx knelt down next to the half-conscious boy and lightly smacked the side of his face with his now ungloved hand,

"Hey, you okay?" Gnocx asked flatly as he slapped him a second time.

That time, the kid's face cringed slightly before he cracked open his eyes. He blinked a few times before he looked first at Gnocx then himself.

"Well, damn it," the teen said before he forced himself up and the logs covering him fell to the wayside. "That's what I get for hurrying."

At his full height, the teen was shorter than Gnocx. His hair was a light brown, thin, and fell to just above his chin. He had boy like features and he was really skinny, some would say frail looking. He looked at Gnocx as he stood and gulped, much to Gnocx's confusion.

"W-Who are you?" he stuttered.

"Gnocx," the Nobody replied still with a raised brow and a hand in the pocket of his black pants. "Are you afraid of me?"

"What?" the teen yelled in a mix of a stutter and a sputter as he started hurriedly restacking logs. "No! What makes you think that?"

"You're a stuttering mess," Gnocx deadpanned as he hefted logs and helped replace them in the stack. "You don't need to be, I heard the commotion while I was walking and came to see what happened."

Gnocx helped him gather the rest of the wood and then turned to leave.

"Wait," the teen said as he ran in front of him. "My name is Michael."

Gnocx stared at Michael a moment before he nodded and continued to walk by him.

"Thank you for your help," Michael added hesitantly.

Gnocx just held a hand up and waved as he continued to walk.

"…. Do you want something to eat?"

At that Gnocx stopped and looked over his shoulder with a cocked eyebrow as he searched Michael's eyes that were darting every which way. With a resigned shrug at the fact that he had nowhere else to go he accepted.

* * *

Out on the sea in a small sail boat, a teen in a red vest sat on the head of the boat and stared out ahead as the sun began its decent into the position indicating late afternoon hours. Behind him a man in a white shirt, black pants, and a green haramaki let out a snore as he continued to sleep the journey away, three swords laying at his side while his feet were perched on the edge of the boat. They had been sailing like this for a while and the teen in the red vest was quickly growing bored. He lifted a hand and scratched his cheek that held a funny shaped scar. Then he yawned, closing his eyes. Once they were open again however, they bugged out.

"Land!" he screamed. "Zoro, wake up! Land!"

The raven haired teen's companion woke up mid snore and groggily sat up. He rubbed his eyes as he followed his boat mates' gaze to the approaching island.

"Do you know where we are?" He asked as he ran a hand through his light green hair.

"Shishishi, nope!" the teen laughed as he sat his hand on the straw hat on his hand as they were hit with a small wind.

Zoro sighed as he maneuvered toward where his friend was.

"We really need to find a Navigator, Luffy."

* * *

**Tadaa! Welcome to the world of One Piece, Gnocx! One Piece is my all time favorite anime, so of course I had to send him here. I don't have a whole lot done, but once I get past this first arc, it should be a hell of a lot easier to crank chapters out. This is going to be long, likely longer than Volume Two so strap in folks. A preview sort of though. In this Volume, Gnocx starts to have images appear in his mind, and maybe a voice or two. (memories) and he fights an organization member for the first time, I already know who it is. Also the mysterious third party I introduced in the last chapter of Volume Two shall make themselves known. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and to those who love Yu Yu Hakusho, I wrote a one shot named Romance Novel. It is a KeikoxYusuke fic and it is a lemon, it already has over 100 views. If you wish, check it out. Until next Friday. See ya.**


	2. Sazar and The Man With The Strawhat

**Me: I'm back.**

**PR: :sarcastically: Yippee.**

**Me: "You wound me."**

**PR: "Who is disclaiming?"**

**Me: "I am."**

**PR: :deadpans: "Boring."**

**Me: "I haven't had Gnocx meet Zoro or Luffy yet so I can't have them do it."**

**PR: "You should send him to Loveless."**

**Me: :sweatdrops: "No."**

**PR: "You totally should! He would look so cute with cat ears!"**

**Me: "I think he would disagree."**

**PR: :glares and stands up: "Gnocx! Where are you?" :walks out of the room:**

**Me: :sigh: "Anyway. I do not own Kingdom Hearts or One Piece. Kingdom Hearts belongs to it's owner and One Piece belongs to the genius storyteller, Eiichiro Oda."**

* * *

Chapter 2

Michael led Gnocx around to the front of the building and pushed open the door, moving to the side to allow Gnocx to go in first. Gnocx nodded and went in but stopped as he stared ahead at the bar. Michael, who had no warning, collided with his back but Gnocx didn't budge. Michael looked around him to see what he was looking at then cringed.

At the bar, a woman somewhere in her 40's was pressed against the bar, but she held a knife in her hand and had it against the throat of the man who was essentially pinning her to it.

"I've told your slimy ass a million times that this bar is not for sale, now get out," the woman said as she pressed the knife against the man's skin.

The man just smirked at her, despite the feeling of cool metal on his flesh as his eyes shone in amusement, causing the woman's eyes to narrow.

"Very well," the man said as he backed off of her.

She still held the knife ready as the man dusted himself off before taking a look at the bar and wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"You can't keep this bar afloat forever, especially since you can't seem to keep up its maintenance," the man sneered.

"Stay the hell away, Sazar, you're not getting this land from us just so you can install some idiotic attraction," the woman warned.

"We shall see, Caroline," Sazar said with a smirk as he walked toward the exit. "Hello, dear little, Michael," he finished as he walked by them, completely ignoring Gnocx who was now forced to play security blanket to the nervous Michael.

Sazar had then left through the front door and before Gnocx could blink, the knife Caroline was holding found itself embedded into the wood of the door where Sazar's head was mere seconds before. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her brown hair as Michael's eyes widened in fear of the woman's and he grabbed hold of the back of Gnocx's shirt. Gnocx just spared him a glance before walking back to the door and pulling the knife out.

"Is the wood all stacked, Michael?" Caroline asked.

Michael seemed to get over his fear at seeing the woman calm so he approached the bar and sat on a stool.

"Yeah, Mom, it's done, some of it fell on me though and Gnocx helped me," Michael explained.

Caroline raised her eyebrow and looked to where Gnocx was walking toward them and watched him set the knife on the bar.

"What kind of name is Gnocx?" she asked him.

Gnocx sighed as he sat down next to Michael.

"For that, you'd have to ask the one that named me," he said with resignation.

"You poor man," Caroline said as she went behind the counter. "Thank you for helping my son, he isn't exactly the finest physical specimen out there."

"Mom," Michael said as he ducked his head to hide the flush that adorned his cheeks.

"I wouldn't have you any other way, Honey," Caroline said as she brushed his head with her hand, much to Michael's embarrassment.

"Anyway, Mom, I'm gonna get Gnocx some food for helping me," Michael said as he stood.

After he vanished into the back, Caroline let out a sigh.

"Just like his father, that boy," she said wistfully.

Gnocx gave her a questioning look and she decided to talk.

"This bar used to belong to his father, Rafe," she began. "Rafe always made it his mission to help people have a good time and to be comfortable, he's probably rolling around in his grave with the state this place is in."

"How did he die?" Gnocx asked.

"He got really sick," she said in explanation. "From what I understand it was incurable, but he still made the most of his time."

"Is the business really that poor?" Gnocx changed the subject.

"With Sazar in charge it is," Caroline gritted. "Did you notice all the boarded up buildings."

At Gnocx's nod she continued.

"Ever since he took control of the village he has been systematically shutting down all the businesses along the shore, he wants to tear everything down and build a casino."

"Casino?" Gnocx asked. "That is such a typical villain's goal."

Caroline couldn't help it; she started cackling like a hyena and smacked her hand on the bar.

_That explains the darkness in that man's heart_, Gnocx surmised as he let her laugh.

Caroline walked around the bar while her laughs subsided and wrapped an arm around Gnocx's head before pushing it roughly into her chest.

"That was real funny," she said ignoring the fact that she was suffocating him in her cleavage. "You just made my day, I was gonna make you pay for your food but now it's on the house."

She let him go and with a quick gasp, his lungs were able to resupply themselves with oxygen, she ignored this as she walked back around the counter and grabbed a bottle of rum and two glasses.

"No alcohol please," Gnocx said, wanting to stay alert.

She looked at him dully before muttering something that sounded like 'lightweight' before grabbing a glass bottle of cola instead, which he took gratefully, ignoring her assumption.

A few moments later, Michael came back out with a piece of meat and some bread.

"It's not much, but here you go," Michael told him.

"It's alright," Gnocx said as he took a swig of cola. "Can you guys tell me where the inn is?"

"For you," Caroline said. "Upstairs. If you need a place to stay, you can stay here for the night, the least I can do for my new favorite customer."

"Thank you," Gnocx told her before he took another swig and grabbed the bread.

"Mom did you hear about the space man?" Michael asked with a bit of a scoff.

"Yeah, that idiot Rufus doesn't know what he is talking about," Caroline said.

"What are you talking about?" Gnocx asked.

"Didn't you see that shooting star earlier?" Michael asked. "It was amazing! It streaked over the island in the middle of the day and fell into the ocean. Earlier Sazar sent Rufus and his men to check it out and they came back with Rufus spouting off something about a space man with devil fruit powers."

"I see, and what is a devil fruit exactly?" Gnocx asked.

"Devil fruits are a rare item normally found on the grand line, it is said that once one is ingested, the eater gets endowed with some special powers," Michael said with a hint of wonder in his voice.

"But when someone does eat them, they become an anchor and lose their ability to swim," Caroline added. "We think Sazar ate a devil Fruit, he never goes near water."

Gnocx thought back to his half battle with Rufus and was inclined to agree.

The sun was starting to set and Gnocx decided that he wanted to get out of the bar and sit on the docks. He sat with his feet hanging off the edge. He probably stared for entirely too long, but there was something about it that made him stay. He couldn't look away. He managed to avert his eyes to the a cliff that overlooked the ocan where a single tree along the forest line bent out over the cliff at an odd angle. Gnocx then paused as it appeared to flash in front of him and for a second, the other trees dissappeared as well as the cliff, only to be replaced by a small islet that had a wooden bridge connecting it to the main island. However as quick as it came it was gone.

"This is one of the reasons I love where we live," Michael said as he sat next to him.

"I can see why," Gnocx said, ignoring the fact that he was only interested in the sense of nostalgia he got from the sight.

* * *

Sazar, Rufus, Nicolai were all meeting at a round table in Sazar's estate.

"Did you spread the word, Rufus?" Sazar asked.

"Sure did, Master," the armored buffoon said. "I let them all know about the space man."

Nicolai sweat dropped, but maintained his countenance of stoicism as he turned to his master.

"Was your visit fruitful?" he asked.

"Of course not," Sazar muttered. "Those two won't give up that bar of Rafe's."

"What shall we do then?" Nicolai asked.

"I was struck by inspiration," Sazar smirked. "The building is falling apart, I plan to give it a boost."

"Sir?" Nicolai asked again.

"I need you to do something for me, Nicolai," Sazar said ominously.

* * *

At the docks, the small sailboat came into port, but no one stopped it from hitting the wooden dock, jostling the occupants, Zoro snorted awake as he felt the jostling and looked around.

"Oh, we made it," he surmised before seeing that it was night time and that Luffy was asleep, unceremoniously sprawled out on top of everything in the boat, including Zoro himself. With careful movements, he moved Luffy's arm off of him and grabbed the rope that they had with them, he tied one end on the tiny mast and then the other onto the dock. With that done he dusted his hands off and laid back down, falling asleep instantly.

* * *

"Here you boys go!" Caroline said as she handed Michael and Gnocx a list and a wad of cash.

Gnocx twitched at being called a boy but sighed, he let himself get roped into grocery shopping for the bar with Michael, after all he did owe them for putting him up for the night.

Gnocx grabbed the list with two fingers and watched as it unrolled and was long enough to almost reach his foot. He quickly rolled it back up as Michael pocketed the money.

"While you're out doing that, I need to head through the woods to the wood cutters, I will be back though before long so take your time," Caroline told them as she wheeled a cart of broken chairs toward the dirt trail into the forest.

* * *

"Oi, Zoro, wake up!" Luffy said as he pulled on the man's cheek.

"Ow, Luffy!" Zoro exclaimed. "Damn, my cheeks don't stretch like yours do."

Zoro sat up and rubbed his abused face while Luffy just snickered.

"Right, sorry," the straw hat teen said. "We're at the island though, so let's go find some meat!"

"Of course you're hungry," Zoro said as he stood and stepped onto the dock after attaching his three swords to his haramaki. "It wouldn't hurt to find some booze though, so let's go."

"Meat!" Luffy cried as he barreled away into the town.

"Wait you damn idiot!" Zoro yelled as he gave chase. "It'll still be there when we get to it!"

* * *

"Did you do as I instructed?" Sazar asked Nicolai as he had returned.

"I did, your grace," Nicolai said as he took a seat. "They have been planted and by some time tonight, the bar will be no more."

"Wahoo!" Rufus whooped.

Sazar rolled his eyes before he grinned evilly.

"Excellent."

* * *

"It didn't take nearly as long with you helping me, Gnocx!" Michael gleamed as they walked back to the bar, loaded cart of supplies behind them.

"You know what they say," Gnocx said evenly as he held a piece of paper and looked at it. "Two is better than one and all of that."

Michael noticed what Gnocx was looking at and snickered.

"That Rufus is so stupid," he said.

"I'm inclined to agree," Gnocx said as he took in the crudely drawn image that was supposed to represent him that was on the paper along with a short description of the "Space man with special powers".

Without realizing it, they had made it back to the bar and they quickly started to bring in their purchases. When Gnocx crossed the threshold, he froze as he heard the wood creak underneath his foot. Behind him, Michael sighed.

"Don't mind it, it's been getting like this, we haven't been able to take care of it," He told him as he walked around.

Gnocx then looked down at the floor and caught movement from the corner of his eye, he looked over but nothing was there. He had stuffed the paper in the waist band of his pants and he could feel it rubbing on his side as he walked. Michael walked back outside as Gnocx set some boxed fruit on the bar. He turned to leave but was stopped as he heard a crash and Michael yelping. He rushed out to see that the cart was knocked over and Michael was on the ground, but not alone. Gnocx looked as a teen, who looked to be older than Michael, grunted as he hefted himself off of the poor guy. The new arrival had short black hair, was wearing a red vest, denim shorts, and a straw hat.

"Sorry, guy," he told Michael as he stood and adjusted his hat. "Gotta go get me some meat."

The strange teen started to run, but Gnocx was able to grab his arm before he got away… or so he thought.

"Wait," Gnocx said to him, looking at the top of his hat.

Gnocx could only stare as the arm he had a hold of lengthened as if it were a rubberband, the further the straw hat guy got from him.

On the ground, Michael looked up at the sight and gasped before his eyes bugged out and he crawled around until he was behind Gnocx's legs. The rubber teen stopped and looked back at the surprised duo.

"Are you gonna let me go?" he asked as he waved the hand attached to the arm in Gnocx's grip in front of his face.

"How can you-?" Gnocx started to ask.

"What are you?" Michael yelled as he pointed at the strange man.

Luffy looked at his stretched arm before he grinned a big, goofy grin. He lifted his hand and pinched one of his cheeks before stretching it a good foot away from his face.

"I'm a rubber man!" he exclaimed cheerily.

"He must of eaten a devil fruit," Michael told Gnocx.

"Yep," the fruit user affirmed. "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit and now my whole body is made of rubber. My name's Luffy."

With the arm still in hand, Gnocx walked over to Luffy and stared for a moment. Suddenly he reached forward and pulled on his nose, stretching it out and simultaneously causing Luffy some discomfort.

"Hey," Luffy said as his nose was snapped into place. "Don't do that,"

"Sorry," Gnocx said before he plucked something off of Luffy's hat. "You had this stuck to your hat."

Luffy looked at it to see that it was a small bundle of herbs.

"Ok, well I gotta go get me some meat, so bye," he said abruptly before turning to take off.

"Not so fast," a woman's voice said.

The three turned to see Caroline coming down the road toward them and she did not look pleased. Michael twitched in nervousness at his mother's face.

"Are you the one that broke my cart?" she said lowly in his face.

"Huh?" He said, glancing to the cart. "Oh, I guess I did, sorry about that."

Michael gaped at Luffy's nonchalant attitude toward the destruction of property.

"Alright then," Caroline said as her twitching eyebrow increased in tempo.

"Oi, Luffy you idiot!" a voice yelled.

They all turned their head to see someone running toward them. Gnocx's eye quirked as he noticed the three swords attached to the man's waist, then noticed the shade of green his hair was as he hadn't seen green hair before. The made slowed and glared at Luffy as stopped.

"Hey, Zoro, where were you?" Luffy asked, ignoring the violent, fuming woman.

"You ran off without me!" Zoro yelled as he seemed to grow fangs.

"He also broke my cart," Caroline gritted, then brought her fist down on Luffy's head, sending him to the ground.

Zoro merely glanced at Luffy before looking over to the ruined cart before he sighed.

"Of course we're here for five minutes and you already are causing trouble," he said as he closed his eyes.

"He's gonna fix it too," Caroline said with a sadistic smile.

"What?" Luffy yelled as he recovered without a mark. "I can't be stuck here, I have a crew to gather and a treasure to find."

"And you can do that after you fix my cart," Caroline glared. "But I'm not a total bitch. I will give you some food after you're done."

"Really?" Luffy grinned. "Okay, you got a deal, lady."

"Alright then," Caroline said as she relaxed. "Get to work."

She then turned to Michael.

"Finish unloading please," she said.

"Okay," Michael said as he went back to the remaining supplies.

"You're still here?" Caroline asked Gnocx as she walked over to him.

"I couldn't just leave him to do all of this," he told her. "And you put me up last night so I thought helping would make us even."

"That's fair," Caroline said as she grabbed the paper sticking out of his pants.

She unfurled it and stared at the crude image.

"Wonder why Sazar puts up with that fool?" she wondered. "You arrived at the island yesterday right?"

"I did," Gnocx said as they walked to the cart.

"I don't suppose you could be this guy?" she asked him as he picked up a box.

"Why would you think so?" Gnocx deflected.

"Well, according to this, the man Rufus fought fell into the ocean and swam a long way to shore, you might not have thought of it, but your clothes were still a little wet when you came here last night," she told him.

"I was walking by that fountain in the square and a kid that was messing around fell in and got water all over me," Gnocx answered smoothly.

"Okay then," Caroline said with a sigh. "Just a gut feeling I had, must've been wrong. Although I am sure that the 'space man' is still on the island."

Their conversation ended, but neither was under the illusion that Caroline didn't know that Gnocx was indeed the 'space man' Rufus has been sensationalizing.

* * *

**Dear God. I have regressed. I reread this chapter and felt that I slipped back into the terrible writing that was Volume One. Yes, Caroline figured it out, I mean come on, a guy who had never been on the island before shows up they day some strange robed person fights with the authority of the island... Anyway, I am frustrated because One Piece is my favorite anime and I am having a hard time keeping Zoro and Luffy in character. FML. Anyway. I need to crack at the next chapter so Adios.**

**Pronunciation: Sazar: Say-Czar**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	3. Dreams

**Me: "Hello!"**

**PR: "Hey!"**

**Me: "Today the disclaimer shall be done by the one and only... Monkey D. Luffy!"**

**PR: "Ah, so that explains the meat on a string."**

**Me: "Yep." :Gives a tug and the string in my hand that goes out the door starts coming to me:**

**Luffy: "Wait meat!" :He comes into the room on all fours chasing the meat down. With a leap he finally lands on it and shoves it in his mouth:**

**Me: "Hi, Luffy."**

**Luffy looks at me and waves, meat already down his throat**

**Luffy: "Got anymore?"**

**Me: "Yes, but only if you do the disclaimer."**

**Luffy: "What's a disclam?"**

**PR: :snickers: "Of course he mistakes it for food."**

**Me: :sigh: "Just read this," :hands him a piece of paper:**

**Luffy looks at the paper.**

**Luffy: "Shaded Truths does not own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts. Well of course he doesnt own me, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates! Now come on and give me some more meat!" :stretches his hand and grabs my collar before dragging me out of the room:**

**PR: "... There is nothing that can be said."**

* * *

Chapter 3

"So, wait," Michael said, as he was sitting next to the hungry and eager Luffy. "You're a pirate?"

Luffy beamed at the inquisition.

"Yep," he replied.

"Wow," Michael awed at him with starry eyes. "It must be so much fun."

"Yeah!" Luffy replied. "I just started, but it's already been a blast, right Zoro?"

Said moss-haired man was leaning against the wall snoozing. He started awake at Luffy's question.

"Huh, wha-," he mumbled groggily. "Oh, yeah. Just great."

The sarcasm went unnoticed by Luffy but not by Gnocx or Michael.

"So, where are ya headed after your done here?" Michael asked.

"We're going to the Grand Line," Luffy replied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Michael had just raised a glass to his mouth as Luffy answered and when he heard the words, 'Grand Line' he sprayed what little water he had taken in.

"Grand Line!" he shouted. "Are you crazy? They say that even the most hardened pirates don't last five minutes on those waters!"

"Yeah, I know," Luffy easily said, as if he were a child excited for Christmas.

_He is crazy,_ Michael thought to himself as he turned to Gnocx.

"Isn't he crazy?" Michael asked.

Gnocx looked at him and then to the ceiling as he pondered the question.

"Who knows," he said.

Luffy then looked at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"Hey, you never did say who you were," he said. "What's your name?"

"Gnocx," he replied as he saw Caroline meandering in the kitchen.

Luffy looked at him as if in analysis, causing Gnocx's brow to go up.

"What a stupid name," Luffy said bluntly.

Gnocx just sweat dropped as Zoro, who had just woken up again, burst out laughing.

"Believe me, you aren't the first to not like it," Gnocx told him as Caroline walked out with a huge platter of meat, making Luffy stare open mouthed at her.

"Woo! Meat!" he cried before he licked his lips.

No sooner had she set the plate down then Luffy started grabbing at it, shoving meat in his mouth two pieces at a time. That was stopped as Caroline hefted her foot over the bar and kicked Luffy in the face, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

"Save some for everybody else!" she screeched as Michael gulped and Zoro stared at his downed captain.

"Glutton," he said simply as he stood and sat down at the bar, swords clattering together at his side. "Got any good booze?"

Caroline smirked at this and she bent down and picked three large mugs from under the bar.

"Now we're talking," she said as she went about filling them up.

She slid one over to Zoro, who smiled as he lifted it to his mouth. She then put the second one on the side for herself, then, with a smirk that promised mischief, she slowly slid the final one in front of Gnocx, who just stared at her.

"No, thank you," he told her.

"Who says you have a choice?" she told him evenly.

"Why are you trying so hard to get me to drink?" he asked her.

"Because you need to loosen up a little," she deadpanned as she thrust it in his face.

"No," he said simply causing Caroline to twitch in irritation.

"If you don't I'm shoving it down your throat," she said as she leaned in to whisper. "Mr. Space man."

Gnocx sent her a non-genuine glare.

"Are you afraid to drink?" she teased. "Are you a lightweight?"

"I wouldn't know," he told her, causing her to lean back and stare at him.

"What does that mean?" Caroline asked him, before a light bulb seemed to go off in her head, causing her to start laughing. "Wait, don't-haha-tell me th-ha-at you have never had alcohol before. Bahaha!"

Luffy, who had gotten off the floor, had started laughing with her. Zoro snorted as he continued to down his alcohol and even Michael started to snicker at him.

"The old lady's right," Luffy said. "Have some fun, come on, it's fun."

Gnocx just closed his eyes as Caroline turned to glare at the idiot pirate for the way he referred to her.

"What did you say?" she said as she started cracking her knuckles.

"Hmm?" Luffy hummed while stuffing another piece of meat in his mouth.

Caroline reared her fist back, much to Zoro's amusement, but before it could fly, she was interrupted.

"The reason I wouldn't know if I am a lightweight is not because I haven't had alcohol, but, with the exception of the last couple months, I have no memory," Gnocx said evenly with his eyes still closed.

Caroline halted her fist and her eyes widened as she looked at him. Michael had a sad look on his face while Zoro had an eyebrow quirked. Luffy just frowned at him as his chewing slowed.

"So…what? You have ambrosia?" he asked.

"Its amnesia, and I guess you could say that," Gnocx explained. "I don't remember anything about myself, but I do know how to fight and I am up to my ears in general knowledge, I don't know how to explain it."

Caroline then put on a pensive look and she opened her mouth.

"I-"

"Don't," Gnocx said. "Don't apologize for something you have no control over," he picked up his mug. "Besides," then, surprising them all, he put it to his lips and let the liquid pour down his throat. "What better way to find out then to actually drink it and see?"

Caroline smirked and lifted her mug.

"Bring it in, guys!" she said.

Zoro, Luffy, Michael, and Gnocx each picked up their respective drinks and brought them together above the bar.

"Kampai!" Luffy shouted before they all took a drink.

As Gnocx leaned back in order to compensate for the size of the mug, the slip of paper in his waistband was edged out and it fluttered to the floor. Before he could reach down to grab it, Luffy's rubbery hand beat him to it and he looked at the paper after his arm snapped back into place.

"Space man! Really!" Luffy exclaimed, starry eyed. "Zoro, look!"

Zoro looked at the paper shoved in his face with an irritated scowl.

"What a load," he said as he crumpled the paper up. "You can't honestly believe in space men."

"Well," Michael started. "Yesterday there was a shooting star in the middle of the day, it was really weird. Then Rufus went to the beach because whatever it was fell into the ocean. Apparently Rufus then fought someone in a black coat who he thinks has devil fruit powers."

"Really?" Luffy asked. "What powers?"

This time Caroline chimed in.

"Apparently the man was able to make people float, he froze them, and he also called a sword out of nowhere," Caroline smirked, sneaking a glance at Gnocx, who was dryly staring back and drinking more of his rum, acting as if things weren't in danger of blowing up.

"So cool!" Luffy said. "We gotta find this guy, Zoro, and make him our _nakama_!"

"Oh, come on, Luffy, this is obviously some idiot's delusion," Zoro argued.

"Rufus is an idiot," Michael told them.

Luffy was having none of it.

"Do you guys no where I can find him?" he asked. "I gotta see if he's a good guy, then I will get him to join me."

"We need a navigator first, Luffy," Zoro drawled.

"He's a space man, Zoro, I think if he can fly through space, he'd be able to navigate," Luffy pointed out as if talking to a five year old.

Zoro took another drink after face palming.

"So, what's the plan once you get to the grand line?" Caroline asked him.

"To find the One Piece," Luffy said.

"Really?" Michael asked. "You wanna be the Pirate King?"

"Yep," Luffy said placing his hand on his hat. "Being the Pirate King is my dream."

"Ambitious," Caroline said. "More so than mine."

"I'm gonna be the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro cut in with a smug grin.

"So cool!" Michael said while Luffy grinned.

"I take it you share Rafe's dream?" Gnocx asked Caroline.

"In a way," she said. "He always loved taking care of people, showing kindness to the poor, helping tourists, even animals. He always made people smile when they came here. "

"The bar is the only thing left we have of Dad," Michael said. "So we are honoring him by carrying on his work. It's satisfying, despite Sazar's attempts to destroy it."

Caroline took a moment to explain to Zoro and Luffy who Sazar and Rafe were.

"What a jerk," Luffy said as he munched on the last piece of meat. "Oi, weird name guy, do you have a dream?"

Zoro then hit Luffy with the hilt of one of his swords.

"He has no memories you idiot," Zoro yelled.

"So," Luffy glared.

"I would say that if I were to have a dream," Gnocx interrupted, taking their attention. "It would have to be getting my memory back, after that, who knows?"

Luffy nodded sagely, as if trying to take it seriously but isn't doing a great job.

"That's enough depressing shit!" Caroline exclaimed. "Let's drink!"

After everyone had their fill, a drunken Caroline had told them that they could stay the night if they wanted to before she and Michael went to bed. Zoro dragged a knocked out Luffy up the stairs and dropped him on the floor of one of the rooms before taking the bed for himself. Gnocx, face slightly flushed and head light from the alcohol, trudged up with them and dropped into the bed he stayed the night before. They were all out when they hit their respective mattresses. The alcohol and good time taking their hold. Unfortunately no one noticed until it was too late.

Everything came crashing down.

* * *

"Mission accomplished," Sazar said while sipping a glass of wine, the telltale crash from the shoreline signifying his plans success.

"It sees as though the struggle has finally ended," Nicolai replied as he stood beside him.

On Sazar's other side, Rufus goggled at the area where the crash came from.

"Woo!" he exclaimed, much to the other's annoyance.

Sazar turned his attention back to his glass as he stared at his reflection.

"Now to collect the spoils and eliminate the spares."

* * *

At the jarring of his body and the sudden addition of a weight over him, Gnocx opened his eyes slowly and stared at the splintered wood in his face. He tried to move his legs, but they were pinned like the rest of him minus his arms. It was then he realized he wasn't on the bed anymore, but on top of more wood. He moved his hands and pushed the offending material off his chest and stood slowly, the lingering effects the alcohol had on his movement taking effect, however miniscule. He looked around and his eyes widened as he took in the scene.

The entire second story of the bar seemed to have just collapsed. To one side the bar itself, where they were just having a good time was covered in wood, clothing, and a dresser. The bottles on the shelves shattered or dislodged. There were places in the wall where he could see the outside and a quick look above showed nothing but the dark sky as very little of the building still stood. At the sound of a moan, Gnocx whipped his head around and saw an arm sticking out of some wood. He made his way over, sobered at the turn of events and grabbed the hand while pulling the debris off of the person underneath.

Caroline let out a few coughs as Gnocx uncovered her head and torso. She looked around as Gnocx finished getting her out.

"What?" she breathed as she took in the bar.

"It collapsed," Gnocx said. "I'm not sure how. I woke up just now like you did.

Caroline had a cut on her forehead that was leaking blood in a line, forcing her to keep an eye closed. Her clothes were ripped and her leg bruised and swollen, but she was still able to make it to her feet.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no…"

Her voice got quieter every time she said the word. But then suddenly she started to shriek.

"Michael!" She yelled, as she started overturning rubble. "Michael! Where are you?"

Gnocx looked around and carefully made his way through the building, searching for that flicker with his senses that would announce Michael's whereabouts. He was pulled from his search as some wood a few feet away from him was kicked into the air, and Zoro's boot covered foot was revealed. The green haired man pulled himself out and a still sleeping Luffy along with him.

"He's still asleep?" Gnocx asked.

"Of course he is," Zoro muttered before raising the back of his hand. "Wake up Luffy!"

At the back hand to his face, Luffy snorted and cracked his eyes open. He blinked a few times before gaping.

"What the hell happened?" he shouted as he looked around. "Did we party too hard?"

"No, stupid," Zoro said, letting him stand on his own.

"Michael!" they heard Caroline scream in fear.

Gnocx rounded and went over to where she was on her knees. She was holding his head in her lap but no one failed to notice the large piece of glass embedded in his abdomen.

"Damn," Zoro said appraisingly at the wound.

"Mikey!" Luffy called using his nickname for Michael.

"Hold him down, Caroline," Gnocx told her.

She looked at him, confused, for a second before doing as he suggested, tears starting to stream down her face.

Gnocx grabbed onto the glass with both hands before swiftly pulling it out of his gut. Michael's body gave a jerk and he screamed at the pain. Luffy grimaced slightly at the semi gory sight.

Caroline started to panic mildly as the blood flow increased out of her son. Gnocx dropped the glass and put a bleeding hand over Michael. His hand glowed green and the wounds on the both of them started to slow their bleeding before closing. Gnocx ignored the awed sound coming from Luffy as he concentrated on healing the boy. The process maybe took thirty seconds but to Caroline, it was much longer.

"He's gonna be okay," Gnocx said as he moved his hand away. "It's not completely healed so he won't be able to move too much."

Caroline nodded, not caring how, but only of the fact that her son was okay.

Gnocx turned to inspect the wood, but stopped when his hand was grabbed. He turned to face the inquisitive and starry eyed Luffy.

"That was so cool!" he exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

He looked up to see Zoro with a confused look, glancing between Michael and himself.

"Later," Gnocx said as he pulled his hand away, much to Luffy's disappointment.

He picked up some of the wood pieces and inspected them before he got up and walked to the wall.

"This makes no sense," Caroline said as she cradled Michael's head. "There is no reason for this to happen."

"The building was old," Zoro pointed out as he picked his swords up from under a board. "It was bound to happen."

"I'm aware of that, you ass," Caroline ground out. "I have kept a close eye on this place; we had a good eight months before the structure would be majorly compromised."

"This was that Rafe guys' place, right?" Luffy asked in a surprisingly serious tone as he knelt down next to her.

"Yeah," Caroline said softly. "This place was his dream… It was all we had left."

Over with Gnocx, Zoro walked over to him and stared for a moment.

"What are you looking for?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Earlier this afternoon before you two came here," Gnocx started as he dragged a hand along the higher places in the wood. "I thought I heard something that sounded like a scurry."

"Mouse," Zoro told him.

"That could very well be," Gnocx said. "But I don't think it coincidence that the same day this happens."

"What are you saying?" the swordsman asked.

Gnocx looked down at the ground and saw, something sticking out of a piece of wood. He bent down to pick it up and took it over to Caroline, hunch forming.

"What is this?" he asked her as he knelt next to her and Luffy.

Caroline let one hand move away from Michael to grab the wood. She examined the wood and the thing Gnocx noticed started to move, the quiet area gave rise to a small crunching noise as more of the anomaly showed itself.

"It's a," Luffy started.

Caroline adopted a murderous look on her face.

"This is an insect from the grand line," she told them. "It isn't normally in the East Blue, but they can be ordered. They are kept as pets, but also construction companies by them in order to assist in the destruction of property they need to build over."

Gnocx looked around once more and saw that there seemed to be hundreds if not thousands of the insects in pieces of wood and along the walls.

"How did we not notice them?" Gnocx asked.

"We were too busy enjoying ourselves," Zoro said as Luffy bowed his head, letting his hat cover his eyes.

"That bastard!" Caroline said in a quiet shout.

She then looked at Gnocx as the worry from before vanished into a seething hatred.

"Sazar did this," she told him. "He has been after this place for months and he finally made his move. The bar is done so now he can kick the two of us out of here so he can go ahead and tear everything along the shore down. He's gonna pay for this."

She was jarred out of her revenge speech by Luffy bringing his fist down, splintering the already broken wood under him. Zoro looked at him with a raised brow, but otherwise calm and Gnocx looked curiously.

"This place was your guy's home," he finally said quietly. "He took it away. That jerk took away your dreams as well as Rafe's."

He stood up and Caroline followed him with her gaze.

"Where is this asshole?" he asked.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked in return.

Luffy then looked down at her and her eyes widened at the determined fire burning in his black eyes.

"I'm gonna kick his ass."

* * *

**Time for Luffy to get all badass on us. Next chapter will be the first part of the fights and chapter 5 will end the arc... Finally! Ugh, no more original arcs for awhile. Haven't started chapter four and a scare with my laptop is making me tell you guys this. If there comes a time where I haven't updated ontime, it's for one of three reasons. A. I forgot, in which case it would be up as soon as I remember. B. My computer breaks, in which case it would take as long as it took to be repaired. Right now, the icon on my desktop that shows that battery is telling me that there isnt one and when I unplug the charger, it shuts off. Obviously I can't keep it like this so eventually I'm gonna need to take it in. That won't be until I can save enough money up to go. If anyone can tell me what's up from the description I gave, please PM me or something. You wouldn't believe how dependent I am on this. For fanfiction, school, etc. Until next time.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	4. Zantetsuken

**Me: "Hey guys!"**

**PR: :Glares: "You just now finished the chapter. Lazy!"**

**Me: :sigh: "I know, but hey this sucker is 4000 words without the AN's"**

**PR: "You're only slightly forgiven, and speaking of AN's who is disclaiming?"**

**Me: :smiles: "Well today we have the one and only Roronoa Zoro!"**

**I gesture to the door and it doesn't open. I frown then go open the door. My jaw hits the floor.**

**Me: "What the hell is this!?"**

**PR comes over and gaps slightly at the sight of my destroyed hallway. The most glaring part is the giant hole in the wall.**

**:10 minutes later:**

**I am fuming as Luffy drags Zoro in, with a leash.**

**Me: "What the hell happened?!"**

**Zoro: "Damn it Luffy, get this thing off of me!"**

**Luffy: "Zoro says he couldn't find the room."**

**Me: "So you destroy my wall!"**

**Zoro: "Well what else was I supposed to do!"**

**Me: :gets in Zoro's face: "It was a hallway! there was one door leading to this room and the other door leading to where you came from! How can your sense of direction be that shitty!?"**

**Zoro: "Maybe if you didn't move the room I wouldn't have had trouble!"**

**Zoro and I glare at eachother as PR watches with a sweatdrop and Luffy laughs. She looks at the camera.**

**PR: "Looks like he's gonna have to try Zoro later, so for now... Shaded Truths doesn't own anything. Please enjoy the chapter."**

* * *

Chapter 4

"You're gonna what?" Caroline yelled at him, putting her hands over Michael's ears.

"I'm gonna beat this Sazar guy up," Luffy said. "Now where is he?"

"Forget it," Caroline told him. "There is no way you can take him on. There is also Rufus and Nicolai to consider."

"I don't care about some flunkies," Luffy argued. "I'll send them all flying."

"Don't say that so casually!" she screamed. "There is a reason that they are in power here, no one has been able to unseat them."

"Well, I'll just have to be the first," Luffy stated as if he were talking to a child.

"You're out of your mind," she yelled.

"You might as well tell him," Zoro said as he walked over to them. "He's just gonna try to find him on his own anyway."

"Then talk some sense into him," Caroline said. "I have seen Sazar's power, I would take him down myself if I could but it's just not possible!"

"I know where he is."

The three turned to Gnocx who had just stood up from next to Michael and his mother.

"You do, strange name guy?" Luffy asked prompting a nod from Gnocx.

Gnocx then sidestepped a piece of debris that Caroline chucked at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "You fought Rufus yourself! You know how strong they are."

"Yes," Gnocx said. "And the only thing keeping me from beating Rufus was his armor, the man is an idiot and it should be easy to work my way around his defense."

Caroline just glared at him.

"No one does something like this to my friends and gets away with it!" Luffy proclaimed before he grabbed both Zoro and Gnocx by the collars and ran, dragging the two with him.

"Damn it, Luffy, stop!" Zoro yelled as he struggled to keep his footing.

"I haven't even told you where he is yet!" Gnocx added as he wrestled with Luffy's grip.

That stopped Luffy and he let them go.

"Yeah, sorry," he said sheepishly.

Gnocx just pointed to the building that can be seen on the hill anywhere in the village.

"They are up there," Gnocx said.

"Right," Luffy said suddenly determined. "Let's go beat some ass, Zoro!"

Luffy was then off like a shot. Zoro sighed and muttered something along the line of 'no choice' and 'captain's order' and he went off too. Gnocx followed.

"Why are you coming?" he asked as Gnocx got to his side

"They were nice to me," Gnocx said, referring to Caroline and Michael. "And Rufus and I have a fight to finish."

"So, wait a minute," Zoro said. "Does that mean that you're that 'space man' that poster talked about."

Gnocx's deadpan expression and sweat drop was answer enough.

"You just let them call you that?" Zoro asked.

"I don't really care, I'd rather no one know it was me, but Caroline found out somehow and now there is you."

"Luffy's an idiot but he will find out," Zoro asked.

"I know," Gnocx said. "Speaking of…"

Zoro and Gnocx stopped when they saw Luffy being blocked by foot soldiers. He planted his feet and threw both hands back, allowing them to stretch to where Gnocx and Zoro had to move to the side to get out of their way. Then, palms forward, the hands snapped back and collided with the group, sending them all flying into walls and to the ground.

"I told you guys to get out of the way," Luffy said as he dusted his hands off.

He then noticed Zoro and Gnocx come up behind him.

"What took you guys so long?" he asked dumbly.

"You ran off!" Zoro yelled.

Luffy ignored him and looked at Gnocx.

"You coming with us, Space Guy?" Luffy grinned.

Gnocx's eyebrows shot high at his new name.

"Space Guy?" he asked.

"Yeah, you did say you fought the guy who drew that picture, that's makes you the space man."

"You're assuming."

"Are you?"

"Yes, but that's not the point."

Luffy put his hands on his hips and stared Gnocx down.

"This makes this easy," then Luffy beamed. "After we're done here, how about joining my crew."

"No," Gnocx replied without missing a beat.

Luffy's smile vanished and was replaced with a confused frown.

"Why not?" he asked like a child.

Gnocx looked away and toward the building in front of them.

"Not now, Luffy," Gnocx told him. "We have people to beat."

"He's right, Luffy," Zoro said, mildly amused at the blunt rejection.

"Alright," Luffy huffed and looked away. "But this isn't done."

"Gotcha," Gnocx said as they started running.

* * *

"Master," Nicolai said as he walked into Sazar's antechamber. "Three intruders have breached the gate."

"I'm aware," Sazar said calmly, looking out the window toward the town square and the large fountain in the middle. "Who are they?"

"I believe they were staying at Caroline's bar," Nicolai answered.

"Really," Sazar said with increased interest. "So we have some friends who want vengeance. How sweet."

He looked at Nicolai and noticed the normally stoic man had a slight grin on his face.

"What's with you?" he asked with a dark chuckle.

"Among the intruders, one matches the description of the Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro," Nicolai said.

"You have wanted to test yourself against a worthy opponent," Sazar conceded. "You and Rufus get into your positions and the three of us shall intercept the three of them."

"Of course, Master."

* * *

"M-mom," Michael mumbled as he stirred. "It hurts."

"I know," she told him as she stroked his head and watched as he opened his eyes with a grimace.

His eyes then widened as he took in the surrounding area.

"No," he whispered as his eyes started to shine. "It's… It's…"

Caroline shut her eyes as she felt moisture slip from them and down her face.

_It's…_

The tears went down to her chin where they dripped off to join with the twin trails running down Michael's face.

_It's…_

"I'm sorry Dad," Michael whispered as his fist slowly clenched around a piece of wood, splintering in his hand. "We couldn't do it."

Caroline then lowered her face into his hair and mother and son let the emotions flow.

_It's all gone…_

* * *

"Oi, bastard!" Luffy said as he knocked the front door down with a hard punch. "Where are you?"

"Announcing we're here isn't the best thing to do," Gnocx told him, then was ignored once more.

The room they found themselves in was a circular room that had three doors, one on each side and one straight ahead. Luffy started stalking toward the door that was straight ahead. Before he could make it, all three slammed open. Zoro withdrew two katana and Gnocx tensed, ready to fire a spell if needed, when they all noticed the tapestry that arched around each door. The tapestry that seemed like it belonged on a poster bed, started to rattle before, quicker than lightning, it all moved like a set of snakes someone would see on Medusa. Luffy punched out with his fist, only to have one of the pieces of cloth wrap around his fist while two more got him around the torso, much the same happened with Zoro as his wrists were bound together, swords useless, and Gnocx had his arms restrained to his sides as the cloth wrapped around him, then all as one, the snakes retracted, pulling their struggling prey toward a door before they were unceremoniously thrown in. Once they disappeared beyond their respective thresholds, the doors slammed shut.

* * *

Zoro landed such that he was easily able to roll back onto his feet. He looked around where he ended up and took in that it was another circular room, smaller than the one previous with bare walls.

"The Pirate Hunter, Zoro," a voice said.

Zoro spun his head and locked eyes with a man who was standing next to the door that had been closed.

"My name is Nicolai and I was surprised that you three were so easy to separate, it's disappointing," Nicolai gloated.

Zoro just leveled a glare at him as he sheathed his swords, he grabbed the bandana tied on his bicep and pulled it off, before replacing on his head.

"How do you think we feel?" Zoro asked much to Nicolai's confusion as he pulled out his two black handled katana. "Knowing that the three of us are fighting a few punks who think they are something fantastic. Let's see how easily you fall."

Nicolai narrowed his eyes as he withdrew the katana at his waist.

"Let's just see who falls."

* * *

Gnocx was thrown in in such a way that he was luckily able to right himself by planting a foot on the ground and spinning to a stop, like a top, as he slid across the room. He looked back to the door to see none other than Rufus smirking at him.

"All according to Master's plan," Rufus gloated.

"Then I guess I'm lucky to be getting the small fry," Gnocx said as he held out his hand.

Rufus' eyes bulged as both Gnocx's coat and one of his blades appeared on his person.

"It's you!"

* * *

Luffy wasn't as lucky as Zoro or Gnocx and found himself face first on the floor. He quickly got himself up to see that he was in a long hallway, the door behind him leading to the room he was just in. He looked back momentarily before walking forward.

"Eh, Zoro and Space Guy can take care of themselves," Luffy grinned. "They are on my crew after all, shishi."

With a burst of energy he sprinted for the other end of the hall and knocked the door down with his foot. On the other side he saw a man with a spear sitting in a chair, scowling at him.

"I just replaced that door last week," Sazar complained as Luffy took in the room where the walls were littered with the same cloth in the room they were attacked in. "Someone has to pay up."

"Are you that Sazar guy?" Luffy asked.

"That would be correct," Sazar said with his eyes closed. "Now I can only wonder as to why you—"

"Gum, Gum," Sazar opened his eyes and they widened. "Pistol!"

Sazar managed to flip over the back of his chair as Luffy's fist barreled through it

The fist retracted as Sazar landed, he looked up with a glare only to let out a grunt as Luffy's foot collided with his side, sending him into the wall.

"Gum, Gum Whip!" He cried as Sazar went flying.

* * *

Zoro easily blocked Nicolai's strike before bringing his other sword up and batting him away with the hilt. Nicolai stumbled back before lunging once again. The speed was doubled and Zoro was slightly caught off guard, but still managed to block it with both swords.

"At least you're no pushover," Nicolai said as he reached into his shirt.

Zoro had enough time to step back in order to dodge the second blade that Nicolai had hidden, the sheath attached to the inside of his shirt. When Zoro pulled away he noticed that scratch was left on his cheek as a drop of blood came from it.

"Tiger's lunge!" Nicolai said as he appeared behind Zoro, who had two gashes appear on his chest.

Zoro grit through the pain and swung one sword around, making Nicolai jump away, smirk on his face.

"Time to get serious," Zoro said to himself as he drew his third sword, Wado Ichimongi, and placed the hilt in his mouth.

* * *

"Yes," Gnocx said. "Me."

With that he charged forward and immediately thrust at Rufus' torso, only to have it bounce off his armor.

"Idiot," Rufus sneered. "You should remember my armor reflects—gah!"

Gnocx interrupted Rufus' lecture with a fireball to his face, Rufus stepped back as he held a hand over his eyes.

"What the hell was that?" he shouted as he rubbed his eyes. "Fire too, what devil fruit did you eat?"

"The simple answer," Gnocx began as he kicked out at Rufus' chest, causing it to compress again. "I didn't."

Gnocx was then tossed into the wall on the opposite side as Rufus' armor burst out at him. He slid down the wall to his feet then quickly dodged a punch Rufus sent his way.

"That's a lie," Rufus said as he, in a display of ingenuity Gnocx didn't know he had, used the momentum of his fist to stand on his hands and swing his feet around, catching Gnocx in the jaw and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Now it ends," Rufus declares as he rights himself and charges.

From the floor, Gnocx raises both hands that glow a dark purple.

"Force!"

The area around Rufus turned into a dome of energy the same shade as the glow around Gnocx's hands. Rufus was then shocked to find himself on his knees.

"I can't move," he said as he started to curl in on himself despite all his effort to stand back up. "What are you doing to me."

Gnocx got back on his feet while holding both hands steady.

"The reason I attacked you like I did was to confirm a theory," Gnocx explained as he looked Rufus in the eye. "Under the metal plating in your armor is some sort of pressure pad, that measures the force of your opponents attacks then a springing mechanism under that lets loose and your armor pieces spring apart with the force of your opponent's move against them."

"You sound smart but what are you doing now?" Rufus asked.

"There has to be a limit," Gnocx said. "I apply enough pressure and the spring 'snaps' in a word."

The glow around Gnocx's hands intensified as well as the dome. Gnocx started to sweat with the exertion of the spell, but his saving grace came when he heard the sounds of machinery being crushed. He huffed as he stopped the glowing in his hands. Quickly, he called his sword once more and went for Rufus' neck. Before he could hit, however, Rufus brought his hand up and grabbed Gnocx's wrist, shocking him.

"You…" Rufus growled as he stood, lifting Gnocx's arm with him. "Bastard!"

Gnocx got a fist to his midsection resulting in the air leaving his lungs as he careened across the room, body skipping along the ground before smacking into the wall.

"You'll pay for this," Rufus growled as Gnocx turned his now bleeding head to look at him.

* * *

"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy shouted as he sent both arms, palm open at Sazar.

Sazar used his spear as a pole and vaulted out of the way as Luffy's attack knocked another hole in the wall, close to the window overlooking the square.

"Stay still!" Luffy yelled.

"You know, the damage you're doing to my home is very annoying," Sazar said as he glared.

"Shut up!" Luffy shouted. "What about the home you destroyed?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sazar feigned innocence as he leaned easily on his spear. "The building you're referring to has been in disrepair for years. It was only a matter of time before it finally came down."

"You're so full of it!" Luffy yelled as he ran for him.

Sazar calmly stared at the approaching pirate as if he were nothing. Luffy brought his fist back, no stretch this time, and went to let it go, but to his shock, found himself bound.

The cloth hanging from the ceiling seemed to come to life as it slithered toward him and wrapped around his cocked arm.

"Hey!" he shouted at it as he used his other hand to try to pry it off, resulting in his other arm being bound and his whole body being lifted into the air, like a slab of meat ready for the butcher.

"I introduce you to the power of my devil fruit," Sazar said. "I ate the Bend Bend Fruit. It allows me to do a variety of things like bend the cloth hanging from the ceiling, or change the trajectory of projectiles. There are much more possibilities."

Luffy's response was to put his feet together, forming a sort of arrow shape before launching them at Sazar.

"Gum Gum Spear!"

Sazar blocked the kick with his own spear but was pushed back due to the force.

"Your devil fruit is starting to be a pain," Sazar said as he lifted a hand and more pieces of cloth wrapped around Luffy's torso and legs. "Maybe I should do something about that."

* * *

Zoro blocked another slash from Nicolai, who was smirking cockily.

"This is getting old," Nicolai claimed. "I was so looking forward to fighting someone as famous as you, but apparently the rumors of you are clearly that, rumors."

Zoro just showed no expression on his face. Nicolai was to caught up in his own arrogance to notice that Zoro, while slightly bloody from the cuts on his chest, wasn't even breathing heavily. With a push, he sent Nicolai back and pushed forward. He brought his two hand blades over his mouth blade and Nicolai's eyes widened.

"Three Sword Style: Tiger Trap!" Zoro cried as he slashed downward.

Nicolai gasped and coughed up some blood as three slashes appeared on his torso as Zoro ran past him. He went down on one knee as Zoro turned back around to face him. Nicolai looked back at him and after the moment of pain, smirked.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," he panted as he stood back up.

Zoro remained silent as Nicolai changed the grip on his swords so that they were being held in a reverse grip. He then crossed them over his chest and crouched. Zoro at the same time held his two hand swords perpendicular to each other and started to twirl them.

"It doesn't matter what you try," Nicolai said as he shifted on his feet, ready to spring forward. "No one has ever lived after this attack."

Zoro said nothing but continued his movements.

Nicolai then surged forward, moving his swords so they rubbed against eachother.

"Ultimate technique: Talons of Fire!" Nicolai cried as sparks flew from his clashing blades.

"Three Sword Style:" Zoro chanted as he sped up his rotations before suddenly bursting forward. "Three Thousand Worlds!"

There was a clash then both opponents stood opposite another with their backs turned, Zoro's swords out to his side as he crouched, and Nicolai's in the air, still in the reverse grip. There was a moment's pause…

Then cuts appeared on Zoro's right shoulder and left side and blood burst from them as the wounds began to smoke lightly. Nicolai then smirked.

"Looks like I..." he started before he gasped and blood exploded from three new gashes on his chest. "I-Impossible."

Nicolai spoke as blood flew from his mouth. His swords clattered to the ground and his body soon after. Zoro righted himself and slowly sheathed his swords.

"You might have been the strongest on this island," Zoro said. "But you're just a big fish in a small pond, ignorant of what's outside."

As his last sword was sheathed, Zoro walked to the door, not looking back.

Gnocx dodged a kick before holding his hand out and firing a blue bolt of energy, that froze the Torso section of Rufus' armor when it hit.

"That's cold!" Rufus shouted as he appeared to grow fangs that Gnocx would find comical in any other situation.

Gnocx then bent low and kicked Rufus' knee, sending him flat on his back. He then jumped above Rufus and guided his sword to pierce the ice he just made.

Rufus gasped as the sword impacted, but his face twisted into a sneer as Gnocx saw that all he had done was shatter the ice he had just made.

"Just because I can't bounce your attacks back anymore doesn't mean you can get past my armor," Rufus said as he grabbed the arm Gnocx held his sword in before thrusting up with his head.

Their foreheads collided and Gnocx staggered back, holding his head which was now bleeding from that impact as well as the impact when he imitated a stone skipping on the water. His head was in a bind so he couldn't stop the fist that buried itself in his gut and sent him crashing into the wall once more. As he slid down, the pain in his head grew worse. Time seemed to slow as Rufus started to stalk toward him. Gnocx was then shocked to see what appeared to be a transparent image of himself standing right in front of him. Rufus didn't appear to notice as the image of Gnocx put both hands on his sword and made a stance while bringing it behind him, before disappearing in a flash and reappearing on Rufus' other side. The copy then looked back at Gnocx and faded.

All at once, his headache ceased.

"You're lucky I'm not allowed to kill you, Space Man," Rufus said as he got within 20 feet. "Master wants you alive so he can question you after he and Nicolai finish with the other intruders.

Gnocx said nothing and stood up. His head bent down as he summoned his sword once more. Then, against his instincts, he moved his body so that it mimicked the stance the vision showed him. He closed his eyes and listened to Rufus' approach.

"What are you doing?" Rufus said as he stopped and looked confounded. "I think I might have hit you a bit too hard in the head."

How Gnocx knew, he wasn't sure, but just as Rufus finished talking, he burst forward so quickly that Rufus was able to only see a flash of light, then nothing.

Gnocx appeared behind Rufus, sword held out on the opposite side as if he made a slash, then behind him, Rufus gagged as his 'invincible' armor shattered to pieces and a long gash appeared diagonally across his entire torso. Gnocx looked back with wide eyes as Rufus collapsed and his blood pooled around his body.

"Zantetsuken," Gnocx whispered as the name came to him and his sword vanished. "What just happened?"

He could ponder no further as a blinding pain unlike one he had ever felt before seized his arm. He shouted as the muscles in his arm seemed to spasm and his fist clenched reflexively. He fell to his knee as he rolled up the sleeve on the arm he held the sword in. He grimaced as he rolled up the sleeve to reveal the reddened and swollen appendage.

"That attack must have been too much," Gnocx said as he tried to heal his arm.

All he was able to do was dull the pain but the other symptoms remained. He slowly stood and held his arm as he walked toward the door.

* * *

Zoro and Gnocx each opened their respective doors at the same time and blinked as they each saw the other enter the room. Zoro immediately noticed Gnocx's clothing changed.

"When did you find the time to change clothes?" he asked as they met up in the middle.

Gnocx just rolled his eyes and let the coat fade, causing Zoro to gape slightly.

"How did," he started but was interrupted at the sound of shattering glass. "Luffy."

Zoro led Gnocx as they both ran at the third door, kicking it down and entering the hall that Luffy had been in. They ran through and past the door Luffy kicked down and stared at the broken window in the room. The man who was undoubtedly Sazar held two fingers up before bringing on down then the other.

Zoro and Gnocx's eyes widened as they both heard a splash.

* * *

**Well there you have it. I had a really hard time with this chapter because I wanted to Finish Zoro and Gnocx's fights without it being too rushed. I don't want to hear any english vs japanese attack arguments. I chose to go with the english and if you don't like it that's fine but you will have to deal. Zantetsuken is another hint at Gnocx's past so have fun trying to figure that out. There will be more memories like this one throughout the series. The reason Gnocx's arm is hurt I will explain at a later date. So... not much else to say. Next week will be the final chapter of the arc and I can't wait because I hate writing original arcs I've decided. It's why I won't be a professional writer/author/whatever. (Sorry PR) But who knows, I could change my mind and go for it... in the distant future. Please leave your comments and tell me how I did with the fights. I also apologize for any grammar mistakes. This is hot of the presses.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	5. Sazar's Fall

**Me: "Welcome back."**

**PR: "You're cutting it close again!" :Glares:**

**Me: "I know." :notices cat ears on her head: "Why?"**

**PR: :Cat ears twitch: "Because they're awesome! I love my Neko ears, they mean I'm a virgin."**

**Me: :deadpans: "This is because of you're Loveless obsession isn't it?"**

**PR: "Shut up! Loveless is amazing!"**

**Me: "I read all the manga. I like it too."**

**PR: "Who is disclaiming?"**

**Me: :sigh: "Zoro."**

**PR: "Zoro? After last weeks disaster."**

**Me: "Yes. I want him to do it."**

**I snap my fingers and Luffy comes in, dragging Zoro behind him.**

**Luffy: "Here he is Mr. Dumb Author."**

**Zoro: "Will you let me go! I don't want to be here." :glares at me:**

**Me: :glares back:**

**PR: "Men." :cat ears twitch in irritation: "Can you please do the disclaimer."**

**Zoro looks over and notices the ears.**

**Zoro: "What the hell?"**

**Luffy: "Cool. You're like a catwoman! Join my crew!"**

**Zoro punches luffy on top of the head.**

**Zoro: "Don't ask random people to be on the crew!"**

**PR: "Thanks for the offer Luffy, but I don't want to be a pirate, you could ask Shaded Truths though."**

**Me: "He won't I'm not worth much."**

**Luffy: "What he said."**

**PR: :Glares at the both of us: "We are gonna talk about your self worth issues later."**

**Zoro: "Oh for the love of, Shaded Truths owns nothing but his character. Can I go now?"**

* * *

Chapter 5

"Where are the others, mom?" Michael asked as Caroline continued to stroke his hair. "Gnocx and those cool pirates."

Caroline paused in her ministrations long enough to glance to where Sazar's residence could be seen in the distance.

"We figured out that Sazar sabotaged the wood in the building so it would collapse," Caroline ground out with a spark of hatred in her eyes. "Luffy decided to be stupid and go fight him, the other two went with him."

Michael's eyes widened at the news and he immediately tried to sit up, but Caroline was having none of it and pushed down on his chest to keep him lying down.

"Mom, they can't fight him," Michael said. "We can't just let them go off to their death."

"I tried," she whispered. "I tried to warn those idiots."

Michael stared at his Mother and then gulped as her face transformed from one of defeat into one of righteous fury.

"Those assholes better be dead when I get there or so help me…" Caroline said as she set Michael's head on the ground and stood before turning to walk toward the fighting.

Michael watched her go with a smile on his face.

"You tell 'em."

* * *

"Damn it, Luffy," Zoro muttered as he drew his swords. "Can't go five minutes without getting yourself in trouble."

"He just fell into water," Gnocx stated as he looked at Sazar. "Distraction?"

"Be my guest," Zoro said around the sword in his mouth before he charged.

Sazar looked away from the window as he saw the swordsman head for him. He calmly stood where he was as Zoro approached, the only motion he made was lifting the hand that didn't hold his spear. Zoro watched wide eyed as he felt the swords in his hand and mouth change their path and instead of cutting him to ribbons, sliding in the air around his body. He remained alert enough to jump back when Sazar struck with the butt of his spear.

"One down, two to go," Sazar said as he lifted his hand again, causing cloth hanging from the ceiling to lunge at Zoro, who dodged, sidestepped, and rolled to avoid them, however one managed to snake around his foot and upend him, pulling him off the ground by his foot.

"And now this is two," Sazar said as he waved his hand again.

More banners headed for Zoro, aimed at his throat, but the swordsman was not to be felled so easy and he managed to use the mobility he had to slice through the attacking objects. Sazar scowled at his stubbornness but then his eyes widened as a fireball flew at the strand keeping Zoro off the ground. The fireball seared through it in a second and Zoro rolled around to land on his feet. Sazar looked over, only to see another fireball heading for him. He moved his hand in a sweeping movement, sending the projectile careening into the wall where it left a scorch mark on impact.

"Interesting devil fruit," Sazar noted as Gnocx walked toward Zoro. "You must be the one Rufus fought on the beach."

Gnocx just shrugged in response.

"I wanted to ask about how you fell out of the sky, but… with the recent opportunity for acquisition on the shore, I seem to have allowed my curiosity to waver."

Gnocx remained silent which caused Sazar to frown.

"Your silence is getting on my nerves," he said as he waved his hand, causing the newly sliced banners on the floor to wrap around Gnocx's legs, forcing them together and for him to stagger, which prompted Zoro to use one set of knuckles clenching a sword to try to steady him.

"Use your elbow," Gnocx suggested to Zoro as he steadied him.

"Huh?" he whispered.

"Go at him again, use the elbow," Gnocx told him, hoping he'd get it.

Their eyes met a second before they both had to avoid Sazar's spear. Gnocx huffed as Sazar swung and hit him with his spear, sending him rolling a few times awkwardly due to the binds on his legs. Gnocx grit his teeth as the impacts with his right arm sent wave after wave of agony through his body as a result of the attack to smash Rufus' armor. With limited mobility, he managed to get to a hunched position but the condition of his arm was keeping him from moving as fast as needed. The next moment, Sazar was over him and was bringing the tip of his spear down at his back. Sazar paused as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and waved a finger to alter the path of the sword aimed at his face. Sneer turned to grunt as Zoro let his sword out of his hand long enough to bring his elbow up and into Sazar's nose. There was an audible crack as Sazar yelled as a result of his broken nose as Zoro caught his sword mid fall.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Zoro asked as he sliced through the bindings on his legs.

"Its shot for the moment, haven't had a chance to really see," Gnocx said as he stood back up. "Whatever his power is, it doesn't affect living things."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"Hand to hand isn't either of our strong points, so having Luffy here would make this a hell of a lot easier."

* * *

Caroline was heading through the town when she heard what sounded like shattering glass. She looked up toward where the fights were happening and saw Luffy get thrown out the window and land into the deeper than normal fountain in the square.

_That idiot, _she screamed in her head as she picked up her pace, ignoring the soreness she obtained from her bar collapsing.

She saw out of the corner over her eye, people in their houses looking out their windows in order to see what all the commotion is.

_We all want him gone more than anything,_ she mused as she entered the square.

_This one has devil fruit powers. _

She kicked off her shoes and without hesitation, dived into the fountain.

_He seemed so confident that he could win._

She saw Luffy lying on the bottom of the fountain with his hands over his mouth, but his eyes were desperate and closing at the same time.

_Maybe…. Maybe he can do this. Maybe 'they' can do this._

She wrapped an arm around Luffy's torso and let her hand join his over his mouth before she kicked off the bottom and swam the distance to the surface. Without hesitation, she threw Luffy out of the fountain when she reached the surface and climbed out after him. She looked down to see him hunched over and coughing.

"Thanks… Lady… I owe you one…" Luffy said through a series of gasps so he could get his breath back. "Can you hold on to this for a sec?"

Luffy then took his straw hat from around his neck and handed it to Caroline, who took it without a word.

"That bastard was playing dirty," Luffy said as he glared up at the window he was thrown out of.

* * *

Gnocx and Zoro each rolled out of the way of Sazar's spear, easily avoiding it while getting behind him. Gnocx lashed out with his foot only to miss as Sazar knelt down. Sazar then waved his hand to order a couple of strands to intercept Zoro's swords that were coming for him. The swords easily disposed of them, but now Sazar had righted himself and they were in another stare down. Gnocx and Zoro had their backs to the window and Sazar had a gloating sneer on his face.

"Frustrating, isn't it." Sazar said through his bleeding nose referring to the fact that, aside from Zoro breaking his nose, they haven't been able to touch him. "I think playtime is over.

Zoro and Gnocx then started as they felt something grab onto their shirts. They turned their heads to see a set of stretched arms leading out the window. Arms that had grabbed onto them.

"Looks like play time is over," Gnocx said.

"Oh shit," Zoro muttered before he stuck his handswords into the ground and held on tightly.

Gnocx was confused for a moment, but once he staggered back as he felt a tug he got it, summoning a sword with his good arm he staked it into the ground and used it as an anchor like Zoro had. They both felt the pull get stronger before they lurched forward like a bungee.

"Gum Gum," the two of them heard as Sazar stared questioningly. "Rocket!"

More of the glass shattered as Luffy launched into the room.

"What?" Sazar yelled as Luffy flew over Gnocx and Zoro. "You should be dead!"

Gnocx and Zoro each looked up at Luffy, only to be rewarded with a foot to the face. Luffy, completely ignorant of his spring boards, kicked off their faces, causing their swords to uproot and for both to tumble out the window. Sazar stared wide eyed as Luffy's head met his stomach, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy yelled as his fist crashed into the spot where Sazar was, although the dust coming up keeps him from seeing him.

"Gum Gum Stamp!" Luffy's foot then stretched forward and hit the same place.

"Gum Gum Gattling!" Luffy then used both hands and punched outward so fast that it appeared as if there were dozens of fists headed for the wall.

Once Luffy's attack stopped, to his surprise, a bloody Sazar came out of the dust cloud, and before Luffy could do more than gasp, the tip of his spear buried itself in his shoulder. Luffy cried out as Sazar let out a crazed laugh. Luffy then glared and grabbed his color before throwing him over his shoulder where he landed on the ground in front of the window. Luffy then pulled the spear out of his shoulder and tossed it aside before bringing his arm back. This time his arm stretched and coiled like a spring.

"Gum Gum," Luffy said as Sazar made all the banners in the room fly in front of him in a makeshift shield. "Rifle!"

Luffy's arm barreled forth, easily shattering Sazar's defense and colliding with the man's face. Sazar was wide eyed and his eyes blank as he sailed out the window. Luffy walked forward and watched as his body landed on the ground in the middle of the square.

* * *

"That damn idiot," Zoro grumbled as he and Gnocx stood up after being knocked out of the window.

Zoro sheathed his swords and Gnocx made his vanish as they stared up at the window. Zoro shrugged and then went to sit next to the wall.

"Nothing we can do but wait," he said with a yawn as he too his bandana off his head. "It won't take Luffy long."

"You have a lot of faith in him," Gnocx said as he sat next to him. "How long have you known him?"

"A few days," Zoro said through another yawn.

Gnocx only stared at the response, he didn't expect or really believe it.

"You have this much faith in him after a few days?" he asked skeptically.

Zoro just shrugged at the answer and then folded his arms behind his head before slumping against the wall.

They both then turned their heads at the sound of footsteps and saw Caroline running at them.

"So that's how Luffy got out," Zoro said through a cracked eyelid before closing it.

"You….you…" Caroline said as she stood in front of them panting. "Idiots!"

Zoro and Gnocx then yelped as she slapped both of them in the face.

"What the hell was that?" Zoro yelled at her as a red handprint made itself known on his face.

"Seriously?" Gnocx added as he got one to match

She ignored them and grabbed both their collars, bringing them face to face with her.

She glared at them as she struggled to find the words she wanted to use. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, they all looked up to see Sazar's body flying out of the house and land on the ground. Caroline was speechless as she let them go and then Gnocx and Zoro looked up to see Luffy beaming at them from the window. He then jumped out and sat in between them on the ground.

"That guy was weak," Luffy said as he stretched out. "I can't believe you had a hard time with him Zoro. Are you stupid?"

Zoro then shoved his head into the ground as a tick appeared on his forehead.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" he yelled before pulling him back up and then cuffing him on the side of the head. "And that is for using us as a springboard you bastard!"

"Huh?" Luffy uttered as he looked at the both of them then a look of comprehension appeared as he noticed the imprint of a foot on their faces.

He then moved to scratch the back of his head and looked sheepish.

"Sorry," he said before he noticed Caroline. "Hey, thanks for saving me lady."

She stared at him a moment before, like with Gnocx and Zoro, she slapped him.

"Ow! What was that for?" Luffy asked as he rubbed his cheek.

"I'm glad you guys are alright," she said in response before walking off.

"She's weird," Luffy said as she walked off.

Zoro then noticed his shoulder.

"You got stabbed," he observed.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I guess I did," he concurred. "Hey Space Guy, do that glowy thing you did before."

Gnocx just stared at him and shook his head as he brought his hand around and proceeded to use a healing spell on the stab wound.

"That's so cool!" he said starry eyed. "So how about it? Join my crew, it'll be fun."

"No," Gnocx repeated as he finished and laid back against the wall.

"Why not?" Luffy asked with an impatient frown.

"Because if I do then you'll just be disappointed," he answered.

"What does that mean?" Luffy asked. "You're cool, nothing disappointing about that."

Zoro smiled at Luffy's logic while Gnocx rolled his eyes.

"Do you remember what I said earlier?" he asked.

"Yeah, you can't remember anything," Luffy said, slightly affronted that Gnocx seemed to think he was dumb.

"Yeah, and eventually I'm gonna need to leave in order to find those memories."

"But we are leaving, we are pirates. Are you stupid too?" Luffy asked.

"What is it you call me, Luffy?"

"Space Guy," Luffy answered confused.

"Why do you call me that?"

"Because you're a Space Man."

Gnocx stared at Luffy waiting for what he said to kick in.

"Oh," he finally said. "You need to go back."

"I wouldn't phrase it as going back to space, per say, but yes, I need to go back."

"Are you kidding?" Zoro asked. "You expect me to believe your from off world."

"And I don't expect you too," Gnocx said.

"Come on, Zoro, he does all these cool tricks," Luffy said as he beamed at Zoro.

"Luffy, he's a devil fruit user," Zoro said while sighing.

"You are?" Luffy asked, offended that Gnocx lied to him.

"For the love of," Gnocx said as he stood up. "Watch and learn kids."

Luffy watched with a comical attentiveness and Zoro glared at him as he walked over to the fountain. With careful consideration to his right arm, Gnocx sat on the edge of it and with a look at them pushed himself into the water.

"Hey!" Luffy screamed before he jumped up and ran for the water.

Zoro had to grab him in order to keep him from jumping in as well then they both were shocked to look in and see Gnocx floating on the surface on his back.

"Satisfied?" He asked with a sigh as he let the cool water sooth his arm.

* * *

"You're still coming."

"No."

"Yep."

"Give it up, he isn't gonna take no for an answer."

"The hell he won't. I already told him why I can't join his crew."

This was the argument Caroline and Michael heard as they looked up to see the three walking toward the remains of the bar.

"And I don't care what you say, you're joining anyway."

Gnocx then turned to look at him.

"I'm not gonna be able to stay, do you really want a crew member that's just gonna leave."

Luffy looked at him like he was bored.

"I get that you gotta go get your memories back, but you'll be back."

Gnocx's mind ground to a halt at that proclamation and he stopped walking. Luffy looked back at him when he stopped walking and Zoro was also looking because he was surprised at Luffy's statement.

"You sound so sure," Gnocx said, looking him straight in the eye. "For all I know, I have a family somewhere, friends."

Luffy just shrugged and turned to keep walking as he spoke.

"You'll want to come back," Luffy said as if it were set in stone. "And if you have a family out there somewhere they'd want you to do what makes you happy."

Gnocx stared at Luffy's back as the moments slipped by. No one spoke and the tension mounted. Gnocx clenched his fist and closed his eyes, before letting all the tension in his body exit with a sigh and he went lax.

"If in the end, this comes to bite you in the ass, you have only yourself to blame," Gnocx spoke darkly as he looked to the sky.

In front of him Luffy smirked before beaming, he turned around and wrapped a rubbery arm around both Gnocx and Zoro's shoulders before pulling them to him causing them to line up and Luffy to put them in a sort of headlock.

"Woohoo! Three crew members!"

"Will you let go!" Zoro yelled as he tried to pull the arm off of his neck.

"Welcome aboard, Space Guy," Luffy said as Gnocx tried to help the arm Luffy jostled.

"Yeah, welcome, now will you fucking let go of us?" Zoro grumbled as he gave up his fight.

* * *

**Finafuckingly! This arc is finished! Jesus... Anyway. This was down to the wire and I apologize for the disappointing fight scenes. Normally I'm atleast decent on those. In other news... I have a one shot planned in my damn head. I plan to write it sometime this weekend and it shall be posted as soon as I am done. It is a How To Train Your Dragon one shot (I don't care if its a kids movie, it is one of my favorite kids movies) The one shot will be darker in nature because it involves Hiccup and his issues with self worth and the fact that people kept tearing him down his whole life. Toothless is in it too, so if you are interested keep an eye out for it. I believe I shall title it "Of All The Things Said" or something along those lines. If I decide to deviate from that, then just check my profile to find it. Anyway. Starting next chapter we go along with the episodes of the anime, which makes it easier on me. See you then.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	6. Buggy The Clown

**I walk into the room to see PR focusing on a laptop.**

**Me: "What are you doing?"**

**PR: "I am looking online for directions on how to sew."**

**Me: "Why?"**

**PR: "So I can learn to make the cosplay outfits for my webshow, baka."**

**Me: "Oh, the one who are making me be the script writer for?"**

**PR: "That's only because you're good at writing comedy."**

**Me: "I'm not that good."**

**PR: :rolls eyes: "You're modesty annoys me, now who is disclaiming today."**

**Me: "Well I was gonna have it be Nami, but while she is in this chapter, she doesn't reveal her name so it wouldn't be right."**

**PR: "Oh? Then who did you have in mind?"**

**Me: "Well it'll have to be-"**

**I am interrupted as the door opens and in walks... PR's mother.**

**Me: "What are you doing here?"**

**PR: "Mother."**

**PR's Mom: "Daughter. It's all set up."**

**PR grins evilly.**

**Me: :sweats: "What's all set up."**

**Door opens again and Luffy comes in, he runs to me and snags the front of my shirt.**

**Luffy: "Come on. Lousy Author."**

**Me: "What the hell is going on?"**

**Luffy frowns in irritation before grabbing my arm and pulling me with him to exit the room.**

**PR: "Enjoy getting your hair bleached."**

**Me: "What! Oh hell no! Luffy let go!"**

**PR and her mother laugh as I grab onto the door frame to try to keep myself in the room.**

**Luffy: "She promised me food! Now come on!"**

**Me: "You're such a glutton!"**

**My fingers slip and I tumble into Luffy and we go tumbling out of the room.**

**PR: "Shaded Truths owns nothing, but will soon be sporting dyed hair."**

**She holds up a bottle of pink hair dye and hands it to her mother.**

**PR's Mom: "You're so cruel."**

**PR: "Bring him back when you're done, I need to get him to start writing for my first episode.**

* * *

Chapter 6

"Ugh, so hungry," Luffy moaned as he lay slumped on one end of the boat the three were sailing in.

Luffy, Zoro, and Gnocx went out to sea the next morning after Sazar's defeat. After they made it back to the wrecked bar, Caroline scolded them all again for being reckless but it lacked any real fire, while Michael just stared awe struck at the three, Luffy who picked at his ear, Zoro who yawned as Caroline continued her tirade, and Gnocx who cradled his bad arm.

That night, Luffy went back to the manor, dragging his crew men with him, where they looked through the place 'to see if they could find any meat (or booze) to take with them'.

An hour later, an empty handed Gnocx and Zoro ran into a grumbling Luffy who complained that all he could find were bags of gold coins. After Zoro yelled at him some for his stupidity regarding the gold Luffy had easily replied.

"It's for the scary lady. She can save her and Mikey's dream with it."

Zoro just rubbed his forehead to calm himself down as Gnocx stared at Luffy with an analytical eye.

Caroline had to go through some convincing before she took the gold and then the next morning she gave them all food to last a few days at sea.

Luffy had eaten almost all of the food within the first 24 hours of departing the island, much to the chagrin of his companions.

"Well you did eat all the food," Gnocx said as he stretched his legs out, his arm in a sling made by a doctor friend of Caroline's,

It turned out that the attack Gnocx used on Rufus strained his arm to the point where a muscle was torn. The doctor strapped his arm into a sling and told him that it wasn't too severe and would heal within a couple weeks.

"When the hell are we gonna reach land?" Zoro asked as he laid back with his arms behind his head.

"I don't know," Luffy moaned. "We're just sailing on the wind and the waves, going where they take us. We might not even reach the land. Nah, we will someday."

Zoro let out a surprised grunt as Gnocx face palmed.

"Don't you think it's stupid that someone who is trying to be King of the Pirates doesn't even have one navigational skill?" Zoro asked irritably.

"Nah, I just kinda drift," Luffy said before looking over his shoulder at them. "What about you? Aren't you some famous bounty hunter that sailed the seas?"

"I don't have any recollection of calling myself a bounty hunter," Zoro told him.

"It doesn't matter what you call yourself, it's how the public perceives you," Gnocx added.

Zoro leaned back and looked at the sky. With a sigh he continued.

"I left to look for a certain man, but then I couldn't get back to my village. By that time I had to hunt down pirates to make a living."

"Oh, I see, so you're just lost," Luffy guessed.

"Hey don't put it like that!" Zoro yelled as Gnocx smirked.

Zoro smacked the side of the boat in his outburst and the rocking caused Luffy's hat to fly off of his head. The three watched as the hat flew into the mast, and the wind started to force the hat up the mast.

"Oh no, not my shanks hat," Luffy said mildly distressed.

The three stood as the hat tumbled over to the other side of the boat. Luffy and Zoro took off to the other side, Luffy accidentally smacking Zoro in the face in his haste. Luffy watched as the hat began to fall toward the water, but smiled with Zoro reached out and snagged it out of the air.

"Here you go," Zoro said as he handed it to Luffy.

Luffy grabbed it excitedly and then they all sat down again. Luffy's expression then transformed into one of calm reflection as he stared at the straw hat. Gnocx and Zoro side eyed each other after a moment of this and then Zoro turned to him.

"Hey, you're gonna lose it again," he said. "Thought it was important."

Luffy smiled as Zoro's voice snapped him out of his reminiscence. He then flipped the hat back onto his head.

"It is," Luffy confirmed. "Thanks."

Zoro just nodded before he stretched himself.

"I'm so hungry," the swordsmen said. "It's killing me."

Luffy had a pensive look before something caught his eye.

"Hey look!"

Zoro and Gnocx looked at him, then to the sky where he had his attention.

"It's a bird," Gnocx said.

"Let's eat it!" Luffy shouted while licking his lips.

"How are we gonna catch it?" Zoro asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Leave that to me," luffy said as he stretched both of his arms long enough to grab the top of the mast.

"Gum Gum," he then let go and shot into the air toward the bird. "Rocket!"

"Huh," Zoro uttered as Luffy took off. "That makes sense."

"It does," Gnocx agreed. "Until we have to save him after he lands in the water."

"At least we'll have food," Zoro shrugged.

They then heard Luffy utter a strange sound, so they both looked up and each made their own look of disbelief at the sight of Luffy hanging out of the bird's beak.

"Help me!" Luffy yelled as the bird flew away.

Zoro and Gnocx each stood, Gnocx walked to the other side of the mast so he could get a clear shot.

"I'm gonna try to shoot it down," Gnocx said as he lifted two fingers. "Thun—gah!"

With that ungraceful shout came Gnocx falling over and hitting his head on the side of the boat as Zoro had ignored his previous call, grabbed the oars, and started rowing.

"You damn idiot! What the hell is going on now?" Zoro yelled as he gave chase.

Gnocx managed to get back up after his fall with a slight glare at Zoro before he walked toward him to try to line up a shot again.

"Hey, you there! Please stop! Man overboard!"

Gnocx looked ahead of them to see three men drifting in the water right in their path.

"Ship wreckers at a time like this?" Gnocx questioned.

"I can't believe this," Zoro said, not pausing in his rapid rowing. "I can't stop you're just gonna have to jump in!"

The three gave frightened looks but managed to grab on as the boat blew past them.

Gnocx and Zoro watched as the three crawled onboard

"I'm actually impressed they made it onboard," Zoro said to Gnocx who nodded.

"Are you trying to kill us?" they yelled simultaneously.

Gnocx took their appearances in as they caught their breath. One of them had dark skin and a nearly shaved head and wore an open black sleeveless shirt and white pants, the second had orange hair that was in a shape Gnocx couldn't think of. He wore a striped shirt and grey pants with a sash. The third wore an orange shirt with a blue outline, dark red pants with a blue sash, and he had a black cap on that had a drawing of what appeared to be a skull and crossbones, but on the skull there was a big red nose.

"Alright stop the boat," the one with the cap said as he pulled out a small sword. "The three of us are members of Buggy the Pirate's crew. This boat is ours now."

Gnocx raised his brow as Zoro slowed the boat.

"Hey, Zoro, do you know who Buggy is?" he asked.

"Not a clue," he said as his face took on a pissed off look.

He stood and walked past Gnocx while cracking his knuckles.

Three seconds later the three fools were sitting opposite Gnocx and Zoro with the additions of black eyes, broken teeth, and lumps on their head.

"Oh, we're so sorry sirs," the capped one said as the other two rowed in Zoro's place. "We had no idea one of you was the famous Pirate Hunter, Zoro."

Gnocx looked on with an amused face as Zoro glared at the three as he sat with his swords in his grasp.

"Please forgive us!" they begged.

"Thanks to you three idiots, we lost our friend, so keep paddling," Zoro said before addressing Gnocx.

"Knowing Luffy, he'll try something as soon as he sees land," Zoro said to him.

"And knowing our luck he will just get into more trouble when he finds land," Gnocx added.

They both groaned at the undeniable truth in that statement.

"Why in the hell did I agree to come with him?" they asked themselves at the same time.

While they were wallowing, their rowers were panicking.

"What do we do now?" the dark skinned one asked his crewmates. "If Buggy finds out we let the boat and the treasure be taken by some girl, we're history."

"Who's Buggy?" Zoro asked them, he and Gnocx having heard every word.

"You've never heard of him!" they yelled.

"If we had would we ask?" Gnocx deadpanned. _Is no one in this world sane?_

"He is the ruthless captain of our pirate crew," the capped man said. "He's eaten one of the devil fruits, and he is one truly terrifying man."

* * *

On an island not too far from where Gnocx and Zoro were, there was a town that was mostly empty and the only sounds that could be heard were of people running. In a street, an orange haired girl in a skirt and a white shirt with a blue strip was running along the path, behind her were three men with swords chasing her down.

_Yes, _she cried in her mind as she ran. _I finally got it._

The 'it' she was referring to was the object in her hand, a rolled up piece of parchment.

"Hey!" one of her pursuers yelled. "Get back here, girl!"

"You better give us that map back or else!" a second one shouted.

"We just stole that chart of the grand line!" the third one added. "It belongs to us!"

The girl ignored them and kept running.

"Damn!" the first man yelled. "If we don't get that map back, we're as good as dead!"

"We'll be killed by one of the captain's cannon balls," the second one panicked.

* * *

On top of an incline in the town, there was a small tent set up. Outside of it there was a man looking in the sky with a telescope. He started as he saw what looked to be a person hanging from a bird's mouth.

"Captain Buggy!" he called inside the tent. "There's something strange in the sky."

From inside the tent his voice came.

"Well shoot it down, then," Buggy said calmly.

* * *

The woman and her pursuers perked their ears when they heard the whiz of something in the air, they then stopped when they heard an explosion.

"Huh?" the woman said as they all looked into the air.

All their jaws dropped as a man seemed to fall from where a cloud of smoke appeared in the air. The man was screaming his lungs out as he plummeted. He then landed with a crash between the woman and the pirates and kicked up a dust cloud.

"What was that?" the woman asked as she tried to see through the cloud.

"What the hell?" one of the men muttered as they looked on.

"A guy fell from the sky," another one said dumbly.

"Damn it, I didn't know there were cannon balls flying at me," Luffy said from in the smoke.

The woman gasped as the cloud cleared and revealed Luffy sitting on the ground with a hand on his hat.

"At least I'm safe now," he said as he stood up.

He looked onward, as if he didn't have company.

"And what just happened to me," he started and paused. "Was awesome."

* * *

**Omake**

Zoro and Gnocx could do nothing but stare at the almost empty crate that contained all their food. To the side, Luffy was licking off his fingers. Zoro's eyebrow started to twitch and Gnocx's mouth went into a line. He looked over at Luffy.

"Seriously?" he asked Luffy.

Luffy looked over at him with a confused look.

"Seriously what, Space Guy?" he asked in return, oblivious.

"You ate all the damn food that was supposed to last us four days!" Zoro yelled at him.

"But I was hungry," Luffy said simply.

"Luffy, how are we gonna eat now?" Gnocx asked as he put his hand on his forehead.

"We fish," he answered.

Gnocx and Zoro sighed at his idiocy.

"You guys are too serious," Luffy said sagely. "You need some fun?"

He then handed them each a bottle of whiskey that Caroline had not so secretly stored into their supplies.

_That damn woman,_ Gnocx thought as he tried to take a swig, only to almost shudder at the strength of it.

"Fun, huh?" Zoro said as he seemed to be placated by the enticement of alcohol.

"Yep," Luffy smiled. "The next island we get to, you two need to get laid."

Gnocx and Zoro's eyes shot wide open at Luffy's statement and they each spit out what alcohol they had in their mouths, their unintended target, Luffy.

"What the hell?" Luffy yelled as he tried to wipe it off his face.

"Do you even know what that means?" Zoro demanded.

"Of course I do," Luffy said as he picked his nose.

"That's disgusting," Gnocx said as he recovered from his shock.

"I had the scary lady tell me what it meant when I heard her say that if she were younger again she would of loved to lay one of you guys."

Zoro and Gnocx both looked at each other and shuddered.

"Oh, yeah, she also said she'd want to see how 'flexible' I was."

Luffy then laughed as Zoro and Gnocx gaped at him.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Gnocx said.

"Take a number!" Zoro yelled as his face had adopted a light dusting of red.

* * *

**I've noticed that about half of the omakes I do include some form of sexual innuendo or implication. I must be a perv. Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, despite it's length. Good news though, I am on Spring Break and I plan on using it to get ahead in my writing so I won't have to worry about last minute chapters. Anyway, Until next time**.

**~Shaded Truths~**


	7. Nami

**Me: "Welcome back guys!"**

**PR: "Let's make this quick, we're on spring break."**

**Me: "Very well. Today our disclaimer is Nami."**

**Nami walks into the room and sits between me and PR.**

**Nami: "Why am I here?"**

**Me: "You're disclaiming."**

**Nami: :shrugs: "Alright. For 100,000 berri"**

**PR: "My god you were right, she's like Kyouya."**

**Nami: "Speaking of, Shaded Truths you owe me 2,000,000**

**Me: "What the fuck!" I paid you that damn money back!"**

**Nami: "True but you didn't give me my 200% interest,"**

**Me: :glares: "Drop my amount owed and I won't give Sanji a copy of your room's key."**

**Nami is unimpressed.**

**Me: :sigh: "Drastic measures then."**

**Pulls out my laptop and pulls up my pictures folder. Nami pales as I show her my blackmail.**

**Nami: "Delete those! They were drunk!"**

**I look expectantly.**

**Nami: "Fine okay! You're debt free, and you own nothing in this story except you're stupid character!"**

**PR: "You're evil."**

**Me: "A guys gotta do what a guys gotta do."**

**Nami gets up to leave.**

**PR and I: "Nami."**

**Nami: "What!"**

**We hold our hands out.**

**"Wallets. NOW."**

**Nami grumbles as she reaches into her shirt and pulls out the wallets she pick pocketed from us. She throws them at us and leaves.**

* * *

Chapter 7

"Oh geez," Luffy complained, still ignorant to his audience. "I'm so hungry."

The orange haired girl got over her shock and put on a devious smile.

"Oh, hey boss!" She said as she clasped her hands and walked up to him.

"Huh?" Luffy grunted as he looked from his stomach to her. "Who're you?"

The three goons from Buggy's crew all but growled at them as the girl turned and fled.

"They're all yours now boss, have fun!" she called as she got further away.

"The girls getting away!" one of the men said.

"That's all right," another chimed in. "We got her boss right here."

"You're in a lot of trouble kid," the third said as Luffy watched the object of the three's conversation dash out of sight. "You should of just let your crony fry."

"Hey, do you guys know of somewhere good I can eat?" he asked, completely ignoring their previous statements.

"Foods the least of your worries now," one of the irritated men said as he punched Luffy's hat off of his head.

Luffy gasped as he looked up to see it in the air, a split second later his fist was buried in the man's face. The blow sent him flying while the other two gasped and then Luffy held his hand out and let his hat fall into it before putting back on his head.

"You better keep your hands off my hat!" Luffy threatened with a glare.

"You bastard!" the other two yelled as they pulled daggers.

* * *

On a building overlooking the fight, the girl was climbing on the roof in order to see the results of the skirmish she caused.

"I wonder if they killed that poor guy yet," she said as if she were talking about something in the newspaper.

* * *

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy shouted as he punched the last two in the face, knocking them out.

Back up on the roof, the woman looked over to see Luffy standing over the three unconscious men.

"Wow!" she said. "You're really strong."

Luffy looked over at the sound of her voice.

"Even though they both had sabers," she added as she jumped from the roof onto a balcony. "You took them out easily."

"Hey, you're the girl who set me up, who are you?"

She grinned down at him as she spoke.

"I'm a talented thief who steals strictly from pirates. My name is Nami. Hey wanna team up with me?"

"Umm," Luffy uttered as he turned away. "Thanks lady, but I'll pass."

Nami looked flabbergasted at the flat refusal before she jumped down and ran toward him.

"Hold on," she shouted. "At least think about it first!"

They both stopped as they heard Luffy's stomach sounded its displeasure.

"Oh, I forgot," Luffy said as he sank to his knees. "I'm still so hungry!"

"Oh, is that it," Nami said with a laugh. "Come with me then, I will get you some food."

"Really?" Luffy asked, already back on his feet.

Nami only stared and made unintelligible noises at his bipolar display.

* * *

"So you live in this house?" Luffy asked as he bit into a piece of bread.

Nami had taken him to one of the many empty houses, where, after a minute of searching, she found a little bit of something for him.

"What? No," she dismissed. "I'm just borrowing the place. Most of the people left this town because of Captain Buggy."

"So, you're just a petty theif," Luffy surmised as he looked at Nami, who was sitting on the table.

"How rude," she said in mock hurt. "I'll have you know that I only steal from people who deserve it, pirates. So don't compare me to some everyday scumbag."

"A thief's a thief as far as I'm concerned," Luffy told her as he finished his bread.

She looked away as she got a far off look in her eyes.

"My goal is to collect 100,000,000 berri's no matter how long it takes."

"What do you need that many berris for?" Luffy asked.

"It's a secret," she told him. "But with this chart, that 100 million seems more of a possibility now."

"Wait, a chart?" he said to himself. "So you're a navigator."

"Yeah," she winked at him. "I'm probably the best one your likely to meet."

"Wow," he beamed. "That's perfect! Just what I need."

She looked at him strangely with a raised eyebrow.

"How about you join my crew, we need a navigator," he offered.

"Really?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yeah! You can be our newest crewmember!" Luffy rejoiced.

"No," Nami deadpanned, deflating his elation. "I suppose this means you're a pirate."

"Yeah," he confirmed as he placed his hand on his hat. "I made a solemn promise to the guy that gave me this hat that I would form my own crew and become the greatest pirate ever."

He was kept from saying anymore as Nami brought both hands down on the table.

"There's nothing in the world I despise more than pirates," she told him with finality. "I only like money and tangerines."

"Come on," Luffy moaned. "Be our navigator."

"I said no," she said as she stood up and walked away.

"You're loss," Luffy sighed as he sat back down and helped himself to more bread.

Nami walked over to a window where she could look outside and see two men from Buggy's crew trying to find her.

_I have to do something about them,_ she contemplated as they ran away.

She turned back to Luffy and adopted another grin.

"I guess I might consider joining you," she told him neutrally. "But you'd have to fill certain requirements first."

"Really?" he asked. "I'll do anything."

"Well, then I want you to come with me to make a little visit to Buggy the Pirate Clown, but first…"

Her sentence was emphasized as she picked up a bundle of rope and unwound it. She quickly worked it around his torso, binding his arms behind his back and tying it off around his wrists, leaving enough rope for her to hold like a leash.

"Why did you have to tie me up?" Luffy asked.

"It's for appearances," she assured him.

"Well alright then," he said with a smile, completely buying what she is telling him. "Let's go, I've wanted to meet some other pirates anyway, so let's get going."

"Hold you're horses." She said as his sudden movement caused her to stumble. "What's the rush?"

* * *

"What do you mean the thief got away!" Buggy screeched to a group of his men, who were cowering and holding onto eachother.

"Please forgive us Captain Buggy!" they begged.

"It's time to die!" he yelled, causing them to become more hysterical.

Before any action was taken, another crew member came up to them.

"Captain Buggy, I have news," he said. "The thief is back, and with a prisoner."

They all turned to watch as a smiling Nami waltzed into the area with an unknowing Luffy.

"That's her!" one of the crewman yelled as they came to stand mere feet in front of Buggy the Clown.

"Buggy was dressed in a red and white striped shirt, blue pants, a hat, and his most distinguishing feature was the big red nose on his face, the source of his moniker.

Nami shoved Luffy in the back, causing him to face plant into the ground. She then pulled the chart out of her waistband and strode toward Buggy.

"I've captured the thief, Captain Buggy the Clown, here's your chart back."

"Not that I don't appreciate it," Buggy said with an evil smile. "But, why the change of heart, little girl?"

Nami handed him the chart the stood back.

"I had another fight with my boss, and I just couldn't take it anymore," she explained. "So I thought I would see if I could join your crew."

Buggy narrowed his eyes at her, causing some of his crew to quake in fear.

They were quickly relieved when Buggy started to snort before laughing like the clown he dressed as.

"You're fed up huh?" he affirmed. "I must admit you're an amusing girl, I kind of like you, of course you can join my crew."

He then let out another laugh.

_I did it,_ Nami thought to herself. _I successfully infiltrated this crew, geez these pirates are gullible._

A minute later had Luffy finding himself in a small cage.

"Uh, guys, why am I in a cage?"

"What do you call yourself girl?" Buggy asked Nami as he came out from under his tent.

"Nami," she answered.

Buggy then threw his hands into the air and turned to the crew.

"Then let's have a party to celebrate our new friend, Nami," Buggy cheered causing his dozens of men to chorus their agreement.

* * *

While their party began, at the docks on the other side of town, Zoro, Gnocx, and the three stooges with them finally arrived.

"So this is where Buggy is?" Gnocx asked.

"Yeah," the three said nervously.

"This is also the direction I saw the bird take him," Zoro said as he stepped onto the dock.

"Knowing Luffy…" Gnocx started as he followed Zoro out.

"He'll be in the center of trouble," Zoro grouched as he finished the sentence.

* * *

"Alright men, it's time to load the Buggy Ball!" Buggy cried.

His men's cheering didn't ease the feeling of dread in Nami's mind.

Luffy watched from his prison as Buggy's men wheeled a cannon out of one of the tents. He also saw one of the men carrying a red cannonball with Buggy's mark on it.

"All set Captain," one of the men said after the ball was loaded and the cannon was pointed out toward the down the incline.

"What are you gonna do with that thing?" Nami asked apprehensively.

"Just observe," Buggy said, arms crossed as he stood next to her. "Light it."

The fuse was lit and his men covered their ears as the fuse dwindled to nothing.

* * *

Zoro and Gnocx both heard the resulting explosion and looked to where it was. It was a decent distance away as they hadn't gone into the town yet.

"That was some explosion," Zoro noted with a frown.

"That must have been one of the Captain's special Buggy Balls," one of the stooges said.

"Buggy Balls?" Gnocx grimaced while Zoro smirked at the ridiculous name.

* * *

Nami was speechless as she looked out at the rows of houses that were all but disintegrated.

"That was flashy," Buggy complimented himself. "With my devil fruit powers and Buggy Balls, I should have no problem conquering the grand line, right Nami?"

"Oh," Nami started out of her daze. "Of course, Captain."

"Huh?" luffy interrupted from his cage. "But it's my destiny to conquer the Grand Line."

Buggy's face twisted as he struggled to find his words.

"And then I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates."

"Shut up, idiot!" Nami yelled.

"I can see why you're sick of him, Nami," Buggy chuckled.

"Yeah, I know," she placated. "He never takes anything seriously. Thinks that life's a big game. He acts like a little kid."

"I see," Buggy conceded. "Then how about I give you a Buggy Ball to do away with your old boss."

"Huh?" Nami asked, taken aback.

"It'll be a good opportunity to prove your loyalty to your new captain," he told her with a dark look.

He then gestured to a couple of his men, who wheeled the cannon around so it pointed to Luffy's cage. Luffy only stared at the cannon, Nami, and Buggy as a ball was loaded.

"That's okay, Captain," Nami said as she laughed. "We don't have to finish him off yet, let's just get back to the welcoming party and have more fun."

Buggy slowly turned his head to her as his smirk grew sadistic.

"This is my idea of having more fun," he told her plainly.

He then set a matchbox in her hand and took a few steps back as the crew started to chant.

"Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire…."

_If I don't shoot, I'll be killed. _She contemplated. _But if I do shoot, then I'll be no better than these pirates._

"Come on Nami, light the fuse!" Buggy commanded.

"Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire…."

Luffy only stared coolly at her, waiting for her decision.

"What's wrong, Nami, are you chickening out?" Buggy asked.

Nami just stood there as her hands started to shake.

"What's the matter?" Luffy asked. "Your hands are shaking."

Nami visibly flinched at the observation.

"That's what happens when you take on a group of pirates with half-assed resolve."

"Resolve for what?" Nami hissed. "To kill someone as if it were nothing? Is that a pirate's resolve?"

"No," Luffy stated forcefully. "You've gotta be willing to risk your own life."

Nami stood stiff as a breeze blew through her hair. She jolted as she felt the match box pulled from her grasp.

"Come on, new girl," one of Buggy's men said to her as he lit the match. "Quit being a tease. Let me show you how to light the cannon."

Nami's eyes hardened and she reached for three pieces of wood strapped to her leg, in a quick movement; they were pulled away and pieced together to form a staff, that she used to knock the man out. The crowd went deathly silent as the action Nami just took sank in.

"I'm sorry, my mistake," she cried as she bowed toward Buggy.

"Huh?" Luffy gawked at her inconsistent actions.

"I'm sorry, Captain," she repeated, still bowed.

"What the hell is the problem?" Buggy screamed. "Just shoot him!"

"So, you decided to save me?" Luffy asked.

"Don't be stupid!" Nami yelled. "I just don't want to be on the same level as these inhuman pirates."

"Oh, ok then," Luffy said "Thanks anyway."

"Pirates took the life of someone very dear to me," Nami confided. "I'll never be one of them!"

"Oh," Luffy mumbled. "I see."

He glanced toward the cannon then scream as he saw that the fuse was lit.

"Nami the fuse!"

"So you think that pirates are just inhuman filth, is that right?" Buggy asked through a glare. "Get her men!"

Four of Buggy's men lunged at the command. She swung out with her staff, but they all jumped to avoid it. She then brought it up to intercept a saber but stumbled as she lost her grip. She quickly recovered and ran around them and for the cannon.

"Water, water, water, water…" Luffy kept repeating as he looked for something to use.

Nami made it to the cannon just as the fuse was almost done. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the end of it with both hands then screamed as the lit fuse burned her hand.

"Woah," Luffy complimented. "Watch out!"

Nami turned around to see the men coming at her. She closed her eyes as she waited for the impacts. Luffy gasped as she heard a series of impacts.

"Hey now," her savior said. "It's not very nice to gang up on the poor girl."

"Zoro! Space Guy!" Luffy cheered as Nami turned around.

Zoro had taken two of his swords, still in their sheaths, and used them to smack three of the men in the face, while Gnocx had used his good arm to hit the last man in the head with the hilt of one of his swords.

"Are you hurt?" Zoro asked Nami.

"Huh?" she muttered bewildered.

"I said, are you hurt?" he repeated.

"No, I'm fine, I think," she told him.

"Luffy's in a cage," Gnocx deadpanned as they both noticed him.

Zoro's eye twitched as he took in the site of his tied up captain.

"I am so glad you guys found us," Luffy said. "Now get us out of here."

"How do you always get yourself into these situations?" Zoro asked as he ignored Buggy's crew. "First a giant bird makes off with you and now we find you trapped in a cage."

"It's an interesting story actually," Luffy said with a smile.

"And we'd be glad to hear about it," Gnocx said with absolute sarcasm. "I'll try to get him out."

"This I'd like to see," Zoro said as they both walked by Nami.

_So the crew he mentioned before was… The Pirate Hunter, Zoro, and this guy,_ Nami thought as they walked by. _What's going on here?_

"So you're Zoro," Buggy said, causing Zoro to stop. "Are you hear for my bounty? If so, it's not gonna be without a fight."

"Not interested," Zoro said as he started walking again, following Gnocx who was halfway to Luffy already. "I gave that up. I'm here for my friend."

"Oh? But I'm interested though," Buggy told him, air of cockiness about him. "Killing you would bolster my reputation."

"If you try," Zoro sighed. "You'll die."

"Is that so?" Buggy laughed as he twirled a couple daggers in his hands.

Zoro looked back at him with a stoic expression.

"I tried to warn you, but oh well," he sighed.

The crowd cheered for Buggy as he licked on of his knives.

Gnocx looked back at them as he kept walking before he closed his eyes and turned back.

_Five,_ he began in his head.

Zoro drew all of his swords and crouched.

_Four_

Nami stared at him as she anticipated the fight. Luffy also looked but then glanced at Gnocx as he approached.

_Three,_ Gnocx continued as he brought the corresponding number of fingers up while still holding his sword., causing Luffy to smile knowingly before turning back to the fight.

Buggy then ran for Zoro, screaming like a mad man, while Zoro just hardened his gaze.

_Two,_ Gnocx lowered a finger.

Buggy called out his attack as he pulled out enough knives to hold in between all the fingers of his left hand and jumped. Zoro, quick as he was, was on his other side in a flash.

_One_

The crowd gasped and Nami looked away as Buggy was chopped to pieces, and those pieces fell to the ground.

"Now that wasn't much of a fight, was it?" Zoro asked as he glared at Buggy's body.

"Oh wow, he's weak way to go, Zoro!" Luffy congratulated as Gnocx knelt in front of his cage. "Oh, are you gonna do a trick." Luffy nearly shouted, causing Gnocx to drop his sword and reach beyond the bars to cover his mouth with his hand.

"I'd appreciate it if as few as possible knew about me," Gnocx whispered. "But yes, I have a trick in mind but I don't know if it will work."

Luffy nodded wordlessly, goofy, seriousness in his eyes.

Before Gnocx could get to work, they both looked back at the sound of laughter. Zoro, who had made it halfway to them, stopped and looked back.

"Why are they laughing?" Luffy asked.

"Something's wrong," Gnocx narrowed his eyes as he stood.

"Their captain is lying dead on the ground and they're laughing," Nami observed, confounded.

"Hey fellas," Zoro glared as he stepped back toward them. "What's so damn funny?"

Luffy and Gnocx didn't notice Buggy's floating torso until Zoro was stabbed in the back. The swordsman shouted as he fell to his knees. He looked down and saw the end of one of Buggy's daggers sticking out his front.

"Buggy's alive," Nami shouted.

"But how?" Zoro asked as he turned on his knees.

The fours eyes widened as they saw Buggy's severed arm pull the knife out of Zoro and float back to the rest of his body.

"Chop Chop Fruit," Buggy said as his arm reattached itself to his torso. "That's the name of the devil fruit that gave me my powers. I'm a chop chop person and now I can't be felled by the sword."

"I thought devil fruits were a myth," Nami said.

"So he's a chop chop man," Luffy said. "How freaky."

"You're made of rubber," Gnocx ground out as his eyes darted between Buggy and the downed Zoro.

_The tables have turned, _Nami thought. _If we don't do something, then they're gonna kill all four of us._

"I missed the vital organs, but that's a serious wound, looks like I win!" Buggy gloated.

"I let my guard down," Zoro said. "Stupid mistake."

"Hey!" Luffy yelled, suddenly pissed off. "Stabbing someone in the back is a cowardly move, you big red nose!"

All went deathly silent as Luffy's words echoed.

_Don't call him that you idiot! _Nami panicked.

"Dodge," Luffy whispered to Gnocx.

Gnocx sidestepped as he turned to question what he meant, but at the sight of a dagger flying by where he was, his eyes widened. Buggy yelled as he severed his hand and it flew, with the dagger, barely missing Gnocx, into the cage and Luffy's face. He then laughed in triumph while Nami gaped.

"Hey Buggy," the muffled call dragged their attention to the cage.

Buggy's eyes widened as he saw that Luffy had caught the knife in his mouth.

"After I get outta here, I'm gonna get kick your ass," Luffy said as he bit the knife in half.

"You kick my ass?" Buggy laughed. "Sorry to say you'll all die by my hands. You're a caged rat, a little girl, a wounded man, and a cripple."

"I wouldn't say I'm a cripple," Gnocx deadpanned as he looked at his arm in a cast.

Gnocx's statement went unheard as Luffy started to laugh.

"I refuse to die!" he shouted. "Zoro, get up!"

"What the?" Zoro asked as he looked at him.

Gnocx and Nami watched as Luffy and Zoro stared at each other.

Zoro grinned as he got what Luffy's plan was.

_What just happened, _Gnocx thought to himself, missing what Luffy was trying to do.

_Nothing makes sense anymore,_ Nami thought to herself in despair._ This is why I hate pirates._

Zoro stood, and was automatically assaulted by Buggy, he easily blocked the blows and took advantage of an opening to slice Buggy in half and jump by, sheathed his swords, and ran for Luffy and the cannon.

"Not so fast you," Buggy yelled as he started to go for him.

"Bind," Gnocx said to himself as he held up a hand.

An orange disc of energy appeared on the ground beneath Buggy and he stopped running.

"What the hell is this?" Buggy shouted. "I can't move."

Buggy's crew's eyes bulged as Zoro reached the cannon, he knelt in front of it and then started to push the end up, in order to flip the aim.

"I see know," Gnocx said as Luffy went starry eyed at his binding spell. "Hey, girl! Come on!"

"Huh?" Nami looked over at Gnocx. "Ok…"

She ran by Zoro and the cannon as he just managed to get it flipped. Gnocx ran up to Zoro and helped him get up, allowing Zoro to throw an arm around his shoulders.

"Ignite," he said as he started to walk with Zoro back to Luffy.

"No way! I don't want to go out like this!" Buggy cried as the fuse lit after Gnocx said his spell.

Luffy beamed as the fuse dwindled down and Nami just gaped as the cannon went off and they all turned away from the screams.

* * *

**Omake**

"Do you need me to hold your hand?" Gnocx asked as his eyebrow twitched.

"Shut up!" Zoro yelled with a dusting of flushed cheeks as they ran up the hill, toward where Luffy was. "It's not my fault they decided to move where they were!"

Gnocx just stared at him as they ran.

"It's more like you have a shitty sense of direction," he said.

"I do not!" Zoro yelled, growing fangs.

"Then how did you lead us back to the docks?" Gnocx asked.

"I was following that damn cloud, you asshole!" Zoro said, pointing out a cloud in the sky that looked vaguely like a mug.

"Clouds move you idiot!" Gnocx shouted.

"Well they shouldn't!" Zoro screamed back.

"I hope we find a navigator before you two get me killed."

* * *

**Well there you have it, longest one yet, but not by much. I hope you enjoyed it seeing as how I'm trying to find a way to involve Gnocx without taking away from the canon. I had him light the fuse instead of Nami because it wasn't a moment that was character defining so it doesn't change anything that he did it instead. If you must complain about it, then I can't stop you. See you all next week.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	8. Beast Tamer Mohji

**Me: :pissed:**

**PR: "What's wrong."**

**Me: "I made most of this in the last three hours and it's not my fault I'm pushing it this week."**

**PR: "...OK. Disclaimer?"**

**Me: "I'm gonna just make it quick. I own not-"**

**The door crashes open and Luffy tumbles in screaming. On his face, a dog is biting at him.**

**Luffy: "Get off me you damn mutt!"**

**Zoro comes in after him and tries to pry it off his face.**

**Zoro: "Why did you try to eat his food?"**

**Me: :ticks:**

**PR: :backs away slowly:**

**Luffy: "I was hungry!"**

**They both struggle and the dog lets go, Zoro accidentally sends it flying at me. It lands in my lap, looks at me, licks me, and runs away.**

**Luffy: "What the hell? he's nice to you."**

**I lift my hand and flex it, an explosion happens in the air, causing Luffy to fly out of the room.**

**Zoro: "What the fuck?"**

**I cause another explosion and send him through the wall.**

**PR: :deadpans: "When did you turn into Piper Halliwell?"**

**Me: "When I decided to take advantage of the fact that I'm the author. I own nothing but Gnocx. I'm going to bed."**

**Chair reclines and I instantly am asleep, sleeping the bitchiness out of me.**

**PR: "Well, I do need my script writer in a good mood." :Pulls out laptop and plugs in headphones so she can watch loveless. She pats my shoulder in an attempt to soothe some anger before she presses play.**

* * *

Chapter 8

"I get that you're strong and all, but at least let me help," Gnocx told Zoro as he struggled to lift the cage with Luffy in it.

"Shut up," Zoro said back as blood spurted out of his stomach.

"Are you okay, Zoro?" Luffy asked in concern.

After the explosion from the cannon, Gnocx had tried to break Luffy out by freezing the bars of the cage and smashing them with his sword, exactly as he did with the chandelier chain in Maze Castle. Unfortunately the bars proved to be too thick and he was rewarded with a starry eyed Luffy, a mildly irritated Zoro, and a flabbergasted Nami. Zoro then took it upon himself to grab on to the cage and lift it all by himself in order for all of them to get away.

"I said shut up, I need to concentrate," Zoro grunted as he heaved again. "Let's get outta here."

On the sidelines, Nami watched them with a slightly awed countenance.

_Who are these guys, _she thought to herself watching the three. _I guess that even a pirate would feel the need to rescue a friend._

As she finished her thought, Zoro let out a giant heave and pulled the cage off the ground and into the air behind him before he started to walk awkwardly.

"By the way, Luffy," Zoro began as he panted. "Who's this?"

"Hmm," Luffy hummed.

"The girl," Gnocx clarified as he kept close.

"Oh, that's our new navigator," Luffy explained.

Gnocx rolled his eyes as he watched blood continue to spurt from Zoro's knife wound and pointed at the cage. His finger trailed in the air and created a circle. From that motion a spell molded itself from his motioning. A small circle of dark purple magic formed and flew at Luffy's cage. When it hit, the cage was surrounded by a small band of the same dark purple magic and Zoro paused when he felt the cage get lighter.

"Zero gravity," Gnocx whispered as he grabbed one of the bars with Zoro. "I made the cage unaffected by gravity, but it will only last a few minutes."

"You know, you're freaky powers are starting to freak me out," Zoro told him. "Let's get this out of this messy area and we can drag it the rest of the way."

"How many more tricks can you do Space Guy?" Luffy whispered as he was knocked into the bars at every step.

Gnocx rolled his eyes at Luffy's attempt at being secretive.

"I won't know for sure until I get my memories back," Gnocx tried to explain. "What I know now is on the weakest levels in regards to power and what I know now was in my mind the first time I woke up."

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed. "When you get it back, you can be the crew's magician."

"It's nice to know I'm a sideshow," Gnocx deadpanned.

"Are you done bonding," Zoro gritted. "Let's hurry up!"

Nami had left them in the middle of their conversation, to do what, no one could know.

As Gnocx predicted, the spell wore off soon after and Luffy let out a grunt as he and the cage fell to the ground. Zoro and Gnocx each grabbed one side, Zoro being the only one who can grab with both hands because of Gnocx's bad arm, and pushed it into the middle of a plaza. As soon as they got it into a place they deemed appropriate, they both let go, Gnocx and Zoro both breathing heavily from the exertion. Zoro then collapsed and lie on the ground, however no one paid attention to that because all three pairs of eyes were directed to a space several feet in front of them.

In front of them was a small white dog, sitting as still as a statue with its tongue hanging out of its mouth.

"What's with the dog?" Zoro groaned, half of the sentenced a slur.

"Doggie," Luffy said as Gnocx knelt next to Zoro.

Luffy then used his body weight to make the cage "hop" along the ground until he was sitting in front of the dog.

Gnocx held his hand over Zoro's back but he just glared at him.

"Leave it alone," he said as if he were woken from a nap. "I just need to sleep it off."

"Are you serious?" Gnocx deadpanned.

Luffy and the dog continued to stare at each other, then Luffy put a finger in his mouth and one from his other hand at his eye and stretched his cheek and eyelid out.

"Blaahhh," he moaned at the dog with a smile.

The dog didn't react and Zoro stood up and walked over to sit against the wall.

"It looks like this dog is frozen," Luffy said to Zoro as he walked by.

"I don't give a damn, he can sit there forever for all I care," Zoro grouched back.

"I wonder if it's dead," Luffy said as he reached for it.

The dog stood still as Luffy's finger pressed on its forehead, however as he pressed harder, the dog's eyes narrowed and with a bark, lunged forward passed his hand and latched onto Luffy's face through the barks.

Gnocx and Zoro were too stunned to do anything but stare as Luffy screamed from the dog bite.

"Luffy! Quit goofing off and get serious!" Zoro yelled as Luffy kept screaming and jumped around in the cage crying 'get it off.'

The dog suddenly let go and Luffy fell onto his back. At the same time, Zoro made a sound and fell over onto his side.

"I don't feel good," he mumbled to himself.

Gnocx moved over to Zoro and only got a weak objection as he covered the wound with his hand.

"Leave me alone," Zoro said half-heartedly.

"Now what kind of crewmate would I be if I did that?" Gnocx asked as he let his hand glow.

At the sound of tapping he stopped his spell as Luffy noticed who came up on them.

"Oh, hi Navigator," he greeted Nami as she took in their strange layout.

"Huh," she muttered to herself before addressing Luffy. "I guess you can have this, you got me out of a pretty sticky situation."

She reached into a pocket and threw a small metal object that landed right before Luffy, the key to the cage.

"The key!" Luffy cried. "Thanks Nami!"

"I only did it so we'd be even, and now I don't owe you anything so we're square, okay," she told them.

Zoro pushed away Gnocx's hand and sat up. He grinned at them as they conversed.

"Sure," Luffy told her as he reached for the key, only to be beaten by the dog.

The dog snatched the key up in it's mouth and sent it on a one way trip to its stomach.

The scene froze as they all just came to terms with what happened. Gnocx was wide eyed, Zoro was gaping slightly, Nami looked sort of confused, but Luffy had the most extreme reaction.

They could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears at what the dog just pulled. He reached out and seized it around the neck.

"Stupid dog!" he shouted as he shook the poor canine back and forth. "Stupid, stupid, stupid give me back that key! Give it!"

"Hey!" boomed a voice. "Stop picking on Chu-Chu!"

Gnocx, Nami, and Zoro looked over to where the voice came from to see an older looking man in glasses walking over to them.

"Who the hell are you and why are you hurting poor Chu-Chu?" the man asked them as he stepped up near Zoro and Gnocx.

"Who are you, old man?" Zoro asked in return.

"I'm the mayor of this town," The newly discovered mayor said, looking at Zoro then noticing his bleeding stomach. "My, that looks like it hurts. You must have had a run in with captain Buggy. Let's get you to see a doctor."

After a pit of pestering, The mayor led Zoro to his house and let him stay in a bed. He came back out to where Luffy was sitting in his cage, Gnocx leaned against it, and Nami stood to the side of them.

"Is Zoro gonna be okay?" Luffy asked.

"Well, I really think he needs to see a doctor, but he only wants to 'sleep it off' so I put him in my bed."

"I think I can hear his snoring from here," Gnocx deadpanned causing Luffy to laugh and Nami to hide a snicker.

"Hey, old man, what's with this dog?" Nami asked.

"He justs sits there," Luffy added. "What a lazy mutt."

"He's guarding the pet store," the old man explained with an oozing of fondness for Chu-Chu.

"Guarding it?" Gnocx asked. "Did he know someone from this store?"

The mayor nodded in response.

"The owner was a close friend of mine," he elaborated before walking to stand in front of the dog.

He set a bowl that was filled with dog food down and he started to gobble it up.

"When he passed I was given the task of taking care of Chu-Chu."

"He died?" Nami asked.

"Yes," the old man replied. "Three months ago, when he lost his battle with an illness."

"Don't tell me he's been waiting here for his master to return this whole time," Nami said.

"That appears to be the consensus," the mayor told her. "But I disagree. Chu-Chu is a smart dog. He's probably known for a while that his master isn't coming back."

"So, why does he stay here?" Nami asked.

"Do you know the saying, 'home is where the heart is'?" Gnocx asked them, causing them to look at him.

At Nami's nod he continued.

"I would guess that he feels that he will always belong to this place, master or no, he has a connection to it," Gnocx explained.

"That was what I thought too," the old man nodded as he held a pipe to his mouth. "It's his treasure."

Gnocx noticed Luffy's ears perk slightly at the phrase but drew no attention to it.

"He guards it. His old master left him this shop and that's why he protects it. I've tried to bring him to my place to keep him out of the elements, but he won't take so much as a step away."

They all sat there and took in the meaning of Chu-Chu's actions, until they were interrupted by the sound of his food bowl bouncing around. They all looked at it as it jumped off the ground, then again, but the second time it came with a tremor. Then they heard a roar.

"What is that?" Nami asked.

"It's him! It's Beast Tamer, Mohji!" The mayor screamed. "We gotta get outta here!"

"Hey hold on!" Nami called as she ran after him.

"Now what?" Gnocx addressed himself as he saw a giant lion come into the square. "Let's go Luffy."

He grabbed the end of the cage and almost cast another zero gravity on it but stopped when he only saw Luffy stare at the dog. He sighed.

"Come on Puppy," he told Chu-Chu. "Something's coming. Just give me that key back."

As he spoke Gnocx turned his attention to the Lion stalking toward them. It was easily five of him in height and it was snarling down at them.

"I see that the others have deserted you," the man sitting on the lion said. "And only after you just escaped."

"Who are you," Luffy asked calmly as he leaned back.

"I'm known as the Beast Tamer, Mohji of the Buggy Pirates," Mohji answered.

"Woah, that's a weird animal suit you got on," he told him.

"Luffy, that's his hair," Gnocx told him with a sweat drop as Mohji's forehead ticked.

"It is?" Luffy asked him. "That's even weirder."

"You shouldn't speak so boldly while in that cage," Mohji glared. "You apparently haven't heard of my skills. "There isn't an animal alive that I can't bend to my will."

Mohji hopped off the lion and walked up to Chu-Chu.

"Shake," he commanded as he held out his hand.

Luffy stared and Gnocx's sweat drop made a friend as Mohji started dancing around after Chu-Chu bit him.

"I have no interest in petty thieves like you, so tell me where Roronoa Zoro is and you'll live," Mohji said as if nothing happened.

"No way," Luffy replied immediately.

"Richie! Attack them!" He commanded.

The lion brought down its paw on the cage. Gnocx jumped away and Luffy leaned back, allowing the cage to be torn apart but for him to escape.

"Yes, I'm finally out!" Luffy shouted.

Mohji smirked as Richie's other paw hit him in the stomach, sending him flying dozens of feet and through the Mayor's house.

"Luffy!" Gnocx shouted but then had the air knocked out of him as Richie's tail slapped him on the chest and sent him careening through another building in the opposite direction.

"Good work, Richie." Mohji complimented. "Now let's go find Roronoa so I can strengthen my reputation."

Richie didn't move however, then Mohji noticed he was staring at the pet food store. He looked down at where Chu-Chu sat on guard and smirked evilly.

* * *

"That was intense," Luffy said from where he sat in the wreckage. "At least I'm outta that cage. Now to teach those Buggy Pirates a lesson and convince Nami to be my navigator."

"Wait, you're alive!" Nami yelled as she and the Mayor ran by and noticed him.

"How?" the old man asked.

"I got lucky I guess," Luffy said confused.

"It's not normal to survive an attack like that, I thought you were gonna be splattered all over the place," Nami said.

"It's not normal?" Luffy repeated.

"Why exactly did you come here, and how did you get tangled up in those pirates?" the old man demanded.

"All I know is that I'm looking for a chart of the grand line and a Navigator to go with it," Luffy said before he took off back to the store. "I think that guy in the animal suit said he was looking for Zoro so I gotta go."

Nami and the Mayor stood and watched him leave.

* * *

Gnocx stepped out of his own wreckage, but unlike Luffy who had a rubber body, had random cuts on his body and clothing. He then looked at his bad arm and cursed as a renewed pain ran through it from the impact.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed. "I can't wait till I don't have to wear this damned thing anymore."

He then walked onto a pathway and was able to figure out how far away he was thrown. He looked up into the sky and saw smoke billowing upward.

_That's where the shop is, _Gnocx concluded as he ran toward the smoke.

* * *

Luffy watched as a beaten and bloody Chu-Chu howled and barked at the burning remains of the shop. The words of the earlier conversation flooded through his mind.

_It's his treasure._

_ He guards it._

_ He has a connection to it._

_ His master left him this shop and that's why he protects it._

Luffy's face was blank but his eyes were ripe with a righteous fury and this was the sight Gnocx was treated to as he ran into the plaza.

* * *

"I can't believe that that annoying little dog bit me," Mohji grounded as he and Richie walked through the town.

He was interrupted as Luffy jumped from a rooftop to land in front of them.

"I thought I killed you already," Mohji said through narrowed eyes.

"Sorry, but you won't get rid of me that easily." Luffy rebuttled.

"Crush his head into the ground this time, Richie!" the tamer yelled as he jumped off the lion.

Richie roared and jumped for him but Luffy only smirked and stretched both arms ahead, looping them around eachother multiple times as they stretched and grabbed onto the lions' head.

"I'm not gonna be beaten by a lion," Luffy said as he jumped like a bungee to land with his back to Richie. "Gum Gum Hammer!"

Luffy's arms began to spin out of their coil and the momentum lifted Richie into the air, started him in a spin, and brought him back down over and in front of Luffy. Mohji gaped with tears in his eyes as his lion was knocked out in one blow. The box of food it was carrying in it's mouth fell to the ground.

"What are you?" Mohji stuttered.

"Well, I ate the Gum Gum devil fruit," Luffy told him, all whimsy from before gone.

"You have devil fruit powers like Captain Buggy but yours make you rubber," Mohji clarified as he shook. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have attacked. I'm not looking for trouble."

"It's not me you should apologize to," Luffy said as he turned to look at him. "Because of you; that dog won't get his treasure back, and for that, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Mohji stepped back only for Luffy's hand to stretch with his arm and grasp his throat. He screamed as he was pulled forward and Luffy reared his other fist back. Then he let it loose and punched him to the ground, another one hit K.O.

* * *

Back at the pet shop, Nami came upon the sight of the burning building and watched as a newly healed Chu-Chu sat by the burning building and caught burning ash in his fur.

"Pirates are all the same," she said adding a glare over at Gnocx who was standing a decent distance away from the dog he just healed. "All just a bunch of heartless bastards. They destroy what people cherish without a second thought."

It was then that they noticed Luffy walking back into the square, box of food in hand.

"So, you're alive, pirate," she smirked at him. "You know, I thought for sure that lion would have torn your head off and ended it all. I wish he had! That way there would be at least one less pirate in the world. Maybe I should just kill you myself!"

In her anger she started to run for him, but the mayor caught up and held her back. Luffy just brushed her off and walked by.

"As if you would be able to kill me," he scoffed as he walked toward the dog.

"Well maybe I should try!" Nami yelled.

"Stop it!" the mayor yelled. "What's gotten into you people."

Luffy set the box of food in front of Chu-Chu and sat down next to him.

"That's all I was able to get, that stupid lion ate the rest of it," Luffy said to him as they both stared at the remains of the shop.

Nami was speechless as she watched his actions, as well as the mayor holding her back.

_He… He fought the lion in order to… Save the dog's food? _Nami thought

"You fought well," Luffy smiled at Chu-Chu. "Of course I didn't actually see you fight, but I can tell you gave it your all."

"He had blood in his mouth and it wasn't his," Gnocx added from where he was standing.

"Well there you go," Luffy grinned. "I knew it."

Chu-Chu took the box in his mouth, and walked by Luffy, he got a good distance away before he dropped it and looked back at Luffy. He let out a single bark before picking it up again.

"Thanks," Luffy shouted. "Good luck to you too, Doggie."

Nami smiled at the sight as Gncox walked up to his grinning captain.

"Sorry I yelled at you," Nami said as she walked up to them,

"It's okay," Luffy waved off as he stood. "You've been under a lot of stress lately."

"I'm pathetic," the mayor said with clenched fists. "Chu-Chu and this young one have fought so hard and yet I, the mayor haven't done anything but sit back and watch our town be annihilated."

"Hold up," Nami tried to calm him down.

"Forty years ago this town was nothing but a wasteland. We built it all from the ground up and I'm sick of letting it be destroyed. No more! Buggy and his crew won't terrorize us any longer!"

A boom all got their attention and they turned to see the mayor's house was destroyed by one of Buggy's Buggy balls.

"Zoro was sleeping in there!" Luffy yelled.

"They're gonna destroy it all," The mayor despaired, all former fire gone. "I'm sure he's dead now."

"Are you still alive?" Luffy yelled into the smoke.

"That's one way to wake a guy up," Zoro replied groggily as he climbed out of a wood pile.

He had a wrap around his stomach where the knife wound was, not a real fix, but according to the stubborn fool it was good enough.

"I wish I could have gotten a few more z's." Zoro complained as he stepped out of the rubble.

"What kind of monsters are you people?" Nami asked.

Luffy just laughed and Gnocx rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of their situation.

"I refuse to let him get away with this," the old man stated. "I won't stand for it. I can't let this scumbag ruin all we have worked for the last 40 years."

The guys just watched as the man continued his monologue.

"I will protect this town and defend it to my dying breath!" he yelled as he began to run for where Buggy was located.

"Hold up a minute!" Nami screamed as she grabbed him around the waist. "You can't defeat Buggy!"

"Perhaps, but there are some fights that a man can't run from," he replied as he struggled. "Isn't that right?"

The person in which his inquiry was directed beamed.

"That's right old man." Luffy declared.

"Shut up, Luffy!" Nami shouted at him. "It's dangerous for him to fight Buggy."

"I know it's dangerous!" he screamed at her, tears in his eyes, shocking her into letting him go. "I'm coming for you Buggy the Clown!"

"He was… Crying," she told them.

"Oh, I didn't notice," Luffy said nonchalantly.

"Looks like the party's getting more exciting," Zoro grinned.

"What fun," Gnocx said sarcastically.

"Of course it is," Luffy replied, ignoring Gnocx's sarcasm.

"This is no time for laughter," Nami chided them.

"Don't worry," Luffy assured her. "I've grown fond of that old man, I won't let him die."

Luffy then started to walk after him, prompting Zoro and Gnocx to follow.

"Well in that case," Zoro said.

"What choice do we have," Gnocx added referring to the both of them.

"You're going too, you're both injured.

"My arm is on vacation, I'm fine," Gnocx waved her off.

"So what," Zoro answered for himself. "The injury to my reputation is worse than this."

"If we want to make it to the Grand Line, we need to steal that chart back," Luffy said as they all lined up.

Luffy turned to Nami and grinned.

"So are you gonna join our crew or what?" Luffy asked as he held out his hand. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Nami immediately scowled.

"I'll never sink so low as to become a pirate," Nami told them before smirking then she smacked his hand. "But I suppose we could team up, in order to achieve our common goal."

Luffy snickered as he beamed at her answer.

* * *

"Come out Buggy the Clown!" the mayor yelled as he reached the outside of the building they holed up in. "I am Mayor Boodle and this town is my treasure, I won't let you terrorize my people anymore so come out and fight me!"

At the top of the building, Buggy sneered at him.

"You fool, treasure is gold and jewels, so cut the crap and get out of here before I kill you."

"You can never understand how I feel!" Boodle yelled before he was lifted off the ground.

He grabbed for his neck where Buggy's severed arm was choking him.

"Soon I'm gonna conquer the grand line and flashily obtain all the worlds riches, and there's nothing you or anyone can do to stop me," Buggy laughed as he choked the man. "If this town means so much to you then maybe I'll do you a favor and kill you first so you don't have to see me destroy it."

Buggy then gasped as his hand was wrenched from the man's airway.

"That straw hat again!" he shouted as his hand struggled.

Behind them Zoro, with his bandana on wore a bloodthirsty grin, Nami had a playful smile, and Gnocx flexed his usable hand.

"I'm here to kick your ass, Buggy," Luffy told him. "Just like I promised."

* * *

**So... I had started this on Wednesday night, and was all set to finish last night, but when I got home from class the garage wouldn't open, i assumed that I just needed a new battery for the clicker, so I went inside and saw that all the power was off. I was like What the fuck and checked the front door and saw that there was a notice left that the power was turned off So i called my sister and she took care of it at three. by then my laptop was dead, then I waited... and waited... then midnight came around and the power still wasn't turned on.. and it was 56 in the house. I went to bed and woke up at 10. still no power and it is 48 in the house. It came on at about noon but I had to work so about 3000 words of this was done in the last...3 hours. I apologize for any grammar errors. I checked it before I posted but you know what they say about self editing. Some can't do it. Until next week.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	9. Zoro vs Cabaji

**Me: And we're back.**

**PR: "This isn't the news you know?"**

**Me: "Must you criticize?" **

**PR: "Yes." :deadpans:**

**Me: "Whatever, at least I had this thing done two nights ago instead of the last minute again!"**

**PR: "We'll see how long that lasts. Who is disclaiming?"**

**Me: "I don't fucking know." :Throws hands in the air in frustration: "I was too busy finishing my newest one shot yesterday, which has over 200 views in less than 24 hours by the way."**

**PR: "That's good, it was a good one shot, probably your best."**

**Me: "I'm not one to judge."**

**Door suddenly bursts open and Luffy comes running in.**

**Luffy: "Hey author guy, blow stuff up again!"**

**Me: "No, I was pissed last week and needed something to make comedy."**

**Luffy: "Then I'll make you pissed... Your story sucks!"**

**Me: "I know its not great, try again."**

**PR: "Oh for the love of," :flicks wrists like I did last week and the chair i'm sitting on explodes. sending me to the floor:**

**Me: "What the hell!"**

**Luffy: "Awesome"**

**I glare at Luffy before waving my hand, suddenly he is thrown by an invisible force out of the room.**

**Me: "Now yo-" :PR flicks her wrists again and I freeze in place:**

**PR: "This baka owns nothing. Please enjoy."**

* * *

Chapter 9

Luffy snickered as he held Buggy's struggling hand in his. He let it go which allowed it to fly back to its owner and reattach itself.

"Damn you, Strawhat," Buggy cursed as his men looked on in apprehension.

Luffy let the hacking mayor fall to the ground where he continued to try to get his breathing back to normal.

"How dare you!" Buggy screamed at Luffy and crew as he rubbed his wrist. "You can't just waltz up to me and treat me like this! I'm Captain Buggy and I won't stand for this!"

"Listen to me," Nami said to the others as they all chose to ignore Buggy. "I'm here for the chart and the treasure, then I'm out, got it!"

"Yeah we got it already," Zoro said, forehead twitching under his bandana as Gnocx rolled his eyes at the greedy woman.

"Get outta here," Boodle wheezed, still on the ground. "Why did you follow me? You're outsiders leave this to me. This is my fight. I need to be the one to protect my town."

He then picked up the spear that was on his back and let out a cry. In a surprising show of foresight, Luffy grabbed the back of the man's head and rammed it straight into the wall. Nami gaped while Zoro nodded in approval, sporting a bloodthirsty grin resulting from the anticipation of the fight to come while Gnocx just shook his head.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nami screamed at him.

"That was a bit much don't you think?" Gnocx added, ignoring Nami and showing that he and Zoro already figured out the point.

"It wasn't a bad idea, if the old man went on he would have been killed," Zoro said easily. "Eh, it's for the best."

"You people are all nuts," Gnocx sighed as Nami grew more flustered.

"I'm sure there was a more humane way to deal with the situation!" She screamed at Luffy, who just smiled at her.

Luffy then walked forward so he had a clear view of Buggy in his men.

"Here goes," he said to himself before taking in a large breath. "Big Nose!"

His elongated scream of that name sent Buggy's jaw to the ground, as well as the jaws of his crew. Behind him, Nami grabbed her hair in her hands.

"That's the worst thing you could have done!" She screamed, terrified.

On the roof of the pub Buggy's veins bulged as the anger coursed through him.

"You, damn, flashy, fool," He hissed. "Fire the Buggy Ball!"

Nami screamed and ran out of the path the cannon would fire.

"Come on, Luffy we gotta go," Zoro told him as he and Gnocx moved out of the way.

"You guys go on," he told them. "I'll be fine."

Luffy grinned as the cannon fired, then he started to inhale.

"Gum Gum Balloon," he said as he continued to take in air.

His body began to expand as he drew in more air, his stomach bulged and his body started to take the shape of what you could say was a balloon. Nami looked shocked while Zoro face palmed and Gnocx made a mildly impressed look. Up on the roof, Buggy and his man went slack jawed as the cannonball buried itself into Luffy's inflated stomach.

"What is he?" one of his men gaped.

Their shock turned to horror as the Buggy Ball bounced off of his stomach and back at them. They stood stupid as the ball impacted, causing an explosion. Nami hit the deck as Luffy grabbed his hat to keep it from flying off. Zoro stood with his arms crossed and Gnocx was next to him, observing.

"I got 'em," Luffy stated as the wind from the explosion stopped.

"What kind of monster are you?" Nami screamed at him.

"He freaked her out," Zoro said as he and Gnocx walked back to Luffy.

"Well how did you react when you saw his fruit at work for the first time?" Gnocx asked him. "I was surprised."

The building that the pirates were on was now reduced to rubble and they could see the unconscious bodies of Buggy's crew strewn in the wreckage..

"I knew something was weird with you," Nami said as she got back up. "No human can do these things, explain yourself!"

"That was my Gum Gum Balloon," Luffy said as if he were talking to a simpleton.

"I don't care what you call it, how did you do it?" she raged.

Anymore conversation was cut off as they all heard something in the wreckage. They looked over to see two of Buggy's men being held in the air by his severed hands. He let them drop which showed his expression of rage.

"You thought it would be that easy?" Buggy ground through narrowed eyes.

Nami automatically sobered as she adopted a disgusted look.

"He used his own men as shields," she scoffed. "Unbelievable."

From behind him, Mohji stirred into consciousness and shot up.

"What's going on, what happened here?" he asked groggily before screaming at the site of the opposition. "It's that damn strawhat! We have to be careful, Captain Buggy! That guy has devil fruit powers! He's a rubber person!"

"What?" Buggy exclaimed.

"Rubber person?" Nami asked.

Luffy just looked at her and grabbed his cheeks before stretching them, causing her to grimace.

"See," he told her with his cheeks still stretched.

"So he has a devil fruit," Buggy calmly assessed. "That's how he was able to bounce the ball back. His cripple friend must have one as well, and that is how he lit the fuse and made it so I couldn't move."

"Again with the cripple comment?" Gnocx deadpanned.

"You do look like one," Zoro told him patronizingly.

"My arm is in a cast," Gnocx deadpanned some more. "That's a far cry from being crippled."

While Gnocx made his comment, the rubble behind Mohji and Buggy shifted and it was revealed that one of Buggy's men used Richie the lion as a shield. The man in question had long black hair, wore white pants and an open dark blue vest with a lighter blue scarf.

"How will you respond to this insult, captain?" the man asked.

"Ah, Cabaji," Buggy addressed. "I don't know, I'm too angry to even form a thought.

"What did you do to my Richie, Cabaji?" Mohji yelled as he took in the sight of his pet.

"This cat?" Cabaji asked. "I used it as a shield so my clothes wouldn't get dirty."

Cabaji then dropped Richie to the ground, which incensed Mohji.

"You bastard!" The beast tamer yelled as he went to punch Cabaji.

The dark haired man simply stepped back before bringing up his foot, connecting with Mohji's face, and sending him flying toward Luffy.

"Out of my way!" the airborne man cried.

"How about," Luffy replied, bringing his own foot above his head. "Out of my way!"

Luffy's foot hit Mohji in the face and sent him crashing into the wall. He then slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Captain Buggy," Cabaji addressed.

"Yes, Cabaji."

"Please allow me to repay their disrespect."

"Fine," Buggy said as he turned his head to look at his crewman. "But make it a good show."

Cabaji smirked before jumping into the air. Luffy looked up as he seemed to disappear, when in reality, the sun was hiding him. When he touched down, he was on a unicycle speeding toward then with a sword drawn, aimed for Luffy's head.

"You may call me Acrobat, Cabaji, the First Mate of Captain Buggy's crew," he told them as he approached. "You will pay for your insolence."

As he approached, Luffy kept a straight face as Zoro got infront of him and blocked Cabaji's blade with his own.

"I'll clash swords with you," Zoro told the man as Luffy stepped back.

"It's an honor, Roronoa Zoro," Cabaji grinned. "As a swordsman myself, I relish this chance to slay you."

Cabaji then looked down at Zoro's stomach where they could see blood appearing from the previous wound.

"Hey Zoro, maybe you should get some rest," Luffy told him.

"I can take him for you," Gnocx assured him as he stepped up.

"Just stay back," Zoro told them and Gnocx couldn't help but have a flashback to a certain orange haired moron.

_That's the stab wound the captain inflicted on him, the fool. _Cabaji thought as his grin got wider.

"Arsonist's technique!" Cabaji declared.

He then used his free hand to lower his scarf from his mouth and seemed to exhale a stream of fire into Zoro's face. Zoro closed his eyes and stepped back from the heat, allowing Cabaji to bring his leg up and into Zoro's injured side. He howled from the pain before collapsing onto his back and coughing up a bit of blood.

"What's wrong?" Cabaji asked. "I didn't kick you that hard, did I?"

"He fights dirty, going after the injury like that!" Nami exclaimed while Buggy laughed.

"Acrobat Technique: Murder at the Dust Cloud," Cabaji said as he staked his sword to the ground.

He then twirled it in his hand, causing it to scrape the ground and kick up a dust cloud.

"Acrobat my ass," Zoro said as he sat up. "This is just a normal dust cloud."

His eyes then widened as Cabaji's sword came through the cloud. He was quick enough to block the sword, but wasn't able to defend against the foot that came after and implanted itself into his injured gut. The force of the kick sent him rolling a few feet back.

"He did it again!" Nami yelled.

"It's such a disgraceful sight to see a grown man moaning," Cabaji said from atop his unicycle as Zoro was indeed moaning as he tried to get back up. "I suppose now you can see how foolish it was to make enemies out of the Buggy Pirates."

"To fight with such an injury," Nami said. "He's insane."

"Tell me about it," Gnocx muttered. _It seems this whole world is insane._

"And you two!" she addressed them. "Why aren't you doing anything?"

Luffy just stared ahead while Gnocx side eyed her.

"Roronoa Zoro is finished!" Cabaji exclaimed as he surged forward on his unicycle.

"You want to poke at my wounds?" Zoro asked as he stood back up. "Go ahead."

All parties present, minus Zoro, were shocked to see him stand there and take Cabaji's sword to his side as he rode past.

"Ouchie," Luffy muttered as he grabbed his head.

Nami covered her mouth while Gnocx's eyebrow twitched.

"Is that enough of a handicap for you?" Zoro asked as he turned around to face him. "It's time to show you how superior my skills are to yours."

Zoro turned one of his blades around like he does when he to draw his third.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as he wrapped an arm around Gnocx's neck in a half-headlock. "Get him, Zoro!"

"Is this really necessary?" Gnocx said as if the arm around his neck was an afterthough.

"You've just made a vast error in judgment," Cabaji glared. "I won't be mocked.

"My swords aim to be the best," Zoro explained. "I refuse to lose once to anyone who calls themselves a swordsman."

"I see," Cabaji said. "A strong resolve keeps you going. But don't worry, wounds as bad as yours will be more than enough as an excuse, for losing to me."

"To hell with that," Zoro scoffed. "Even with these minimal injuries, if I lose to someone like you, I don't have that great of future then do I?"

Zoro then drew his third sword and put it in his mouth.

"Why you…" Cabaji hissed as a vein in his forehead bulged.

"Yeah Zoro!" Luffy cheered again, although this time Gnocx was free of his hold.

Nami started as if she just realzed something.

"I won't stay and watch this," she sniffed.

Luffy looked over questioningly while Gnocx kept his ear open.

"You pirates can kill each other all you want, it doesn't matter to me if you win or lose. I'm gonna take this opportunity to swipe their treasure and get outta here."

Luffy just watched as she disappeared between two buildings.

"See ya," he called after her, and got a wave in return.

"Here's a taste of my ultimate acrobatic move," Cabaji said as he held out his palm.

Inside it were three tops that spun in his hand.

"Acrobatic Technique: The Dance of a Hundred Kamikaze Tops!"

Dozens of tops flew from Cabaji to Zoro. He easily deflected them but Cabaji wasn't deterred.

"Acrobat Technique: A Hike in The Mountains!"

Zoro watched as he rode the unicycle up the side of a building and into the air.

"Acrobat Technique: Fireworks in The Cool Summer Breeze!"

Cabaji was right above Zoro and falling fast. From where he stood, Buggy held onto one wrist with his opposite hand and put his hand outward toward Zoro.

"Sting of the Unicycle!" Cabaji called as he pointed his sword downward while in the air.

" Ground Hugging Chop Chop Cannon!" Buggy cried.

His hand severed itself and flew along the ground toward Zoro's leg.

"Cabaji! I'll hold him while you finish him off!"

Buggy's plan was doomed to fail however, as Luffy moved quickly enough to step on the flying hand. Buggy cried in pain as he grabbed the wrist of the severed hand.

"Luffy," Zoro breathed as he dodged Cabaji's strike.

"If you want to fight someone," Luffy grinned. "How about me?"

Zoro had fallen to the ground when he dodged the attack and was breathing heavily.

"I don't need my captain's help to finish you off," Cabaji sneered as he looked down on him.

"I've had enough of this," Zoro panted. "Time to end it."

"So you've finally given up," Cabaji laughed. "I must say I'm surprised you lasted this long with such serious injuries."

"I think you misunderstood," Zoro said as he got his breathing under control. "I'm tired of your boring little sideshow."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Cabaji twitched before he flourished his sword. "Time to show my true skills!"

He rode forward again and this time Zoro only brought his hand swords to his side so that they were both pointed up.

"Oni-Giri," he said as Cabaji and he clashed.

Four streaks of blood appeared as Cabaji got as many slashes on his chest, knocking him off his unicycle.

"Cabaji!" Buggy yelled.

"I can't believe… The Buggy Pirates… were defeated by… lowly thieves."

Cabaji then collapsed.

"We aren't petty thieves," Zoro said as he faltered. "We're pirates."

Zoro then collapsed, bandana falling off and his swords scattered.

"Luffy, I'm going to sleep," he informed before he was out.

"Good," Luffy said before turning back to Buggy

"I've got him, Luffy," Gnocx said as he knelt down and sheathed Zoro's swords for him before wrapping one of Zoro's arms around his shoulder and dragging the man off to the side.

"Do that green thing you do," Luffy said as he moved his shoulder around.

_Nursemaid, _Gnocx thought as he set the swordsman and his swords down and used a healing spell. _That's what I am in this apparently._

_ "_You guys are pirates?" Buggy asked.

"Yeah," Luffy replied in a friendly tone. "We're heading to the grand line."

"Ha," Buggy laughed. "That's not an easy voyage you know. And I don't think that three halfwits the likes you will make it. And what will you do once you get there? Go on a sightseeing tour? Bahahaha!"

"Be King of The Pirates," Luffy said, all seriousness.

Buggy nearly fell over as he stumbled and choked on his laughter at Luffy's statement.

"You can't be serious!" Buggy exclaimed. "If you became king, then I'd be God! There is only one who can become king and obtain all the world's treasures and that's me!"

"You're annoying," Luffy complained. "Let's get serious and settle this."

"This should be good," Gnocx commented as his hand repeatedly flashed as he slowly healed Zoro's wound.

With a flick of his wrists, Buggy held enough knives to hold in between all of his fingers.

"Seeing that straw hat reminds me of him, and that really makes my blood boil," Buggy murmured to himself. "So let's go you wanna be pirate. You remind me of him… That damn Red Haired Shieky Pirate!"

"Wait a minute," Luffy said as he tilted his head forward. "Red Hair? Did you just say you know my old friend, Shanks?"

"That's right," Buggy grinned. "I know Shanks."

"Do you know where he is now?" Luffy demanded.

"I don't know, it depends, Strawhat, maybe I do maybe I don't," Buggy riddled.

Luffy's fists dropped to his side as he stared at Buggy.

"Woah," he breathed. "What are you talking about? Did you forget?"

"No I didn't forget you moron!" Buggy raged.

"When you wake up, maybe you can tell me why I decided to come with him again," Gnocx addressed the snoring Zoro as he sweat dropped.

"I won't tell you where he is out of the kindness of my heart," Buggy goaded. "You have to work for it."

"Fine, I'll make you tell me," Luffy said confidently.

"Give it your best shot," Buggy invited as he kicked his shoe to the ground, triggering a small dagger to stick out from the toes of his shoe. "But I don't like your chances. I doubt rubber can bounce back from a blade."

"You're right," Luffy nodded, uncaring.

Gnocx then spotted Nami hiding behind a corner of one of the buildings, large sacks at her feet as she watched the battle.

"Chop Chop," Buggy said, winding back. "Rice platter!"

He jumped in the air, where his lower half separated from the rest of him and turned into a whirling blade, spinning toward Luffy. He jumped out of the way, letting it spin by.

"Can't move in midair can you?" Buggy asked as he threw all the knives in his hand at the airborne pirate.

"Wrong," Luffy gloated, stretching his arm to grab onto a pole that he used to spring himself out of the path of the knives.

"Interesting," Buggy complimented as his legs came back into place.

"You're not bad either," Luffy returned. "But here comes, Gum Gum Pistol."

Buggy moved his head to the side to dodge the fist flying at him.

"Nice tricks indeed, but," Buggy said as he pulled out a knife. "But they leave you wide open.

Buggy was about to cut Luffy's stretched arm, but didn't notice that his hand had grabbed onto a tree behind him until the rest of Luffy came at him, arm out, poised to clothesline him.

"Gum Gum," Luffy said as he flew toward Buggy while he said 'Chop Chop," "Sickle!"

"Great Escape!" Buggy cried at the same time.

Buggy's head then popped off just in time for Luffy's arm to sail through the space his neck just occupied. Luffy continued his course and crashed through a wall as Buggy's severed head laughed it up while attaching itself back.

"Not good enough, Gum Gum," he sneered.

Luffy's legs were sticking out of the wreckage and he groaned as he pulled himself out.

"Damn, you keep breaking into pieces," Luffy complained.

"Chop Chop Cannon!" Buggy shouted, separating his hand and wrist like before and sending it at Luffy, loaded with knives.

Luffy managed to catch it before it ran him through, but Buggy's grin only grew.

"Separate," he oiled.

Luffy cried out as Buggy's hand and wrist separated, letting the knives cut into the side of his face and knocking him down. Buggy laughed as Luffy sat back up. Luffy looked over to see his prized hat on the ground, he was silent as he picked it up. He suddenly glared at Buggy.

"Bastard!" he shouted.

"What? Was I not supposed to cut your face or something?" Buggy asked innocently.

"No one damages my lucky hat and walks away from it alive," Luffy ground as he looked at the torn portion of the brim of his hat.

"Huh?" Buggy muttered as he looked skeptical.

"This hat is my only treasure and anyone who touches it is gonna pay!" Luffy screamed.

Behind the corner, Nami watched Luffy's outburst as she remembered when they met.

_I made a solemn vow to the guy who gave me this hat that I would form a pirate crew and become the best pirate ever._

"And here I thought nothing phased him," Nami said to herself. "But look at him, he's getting so upset over a hat."

Buggy raised a brow at the rant.

"It seems that hat has a history," he observed.

"That's right," Luffy glared.

"Is it really all that special?" Buggy asked.

Luffy didn't notice in his rage that Buggy's hand hadn't returned to him yet, but Gnocx did and when he saw the hand rise into the air behind Luffy he did what any crewman would.

"Behind you, Luffy!" he warned.

Luffy turned back just in time to see one of the daggers thrown, Luffy sidestepped and stumbled to avoid it, but the position he left himself in was exactly what Buggy desired.

"Then you should protect it!" Buggy finished his earlier sentence.

The hand darted forward and ran the hat through with three daggers and out of Luffy's hand. He watched in horror as the hat was taken from him, memories of the man he obtained it from sacrificing a part of himself to save Luffy when he was a child going through his head.

"How is this tattered hat a treasure?" Buggy laughed as his hand reattached, hat still impaled on it. "Treasure refers to sparkling gold, silver and jewels. And all those things reflect their owner's grandeur. You really consider this dirty straw hat a treasure? You need to grow up boy."

"Shut your mouth!" Luffy yelled. "When Shanks gave me that hat I promised I'd return it in good condition!"

"What?" Buggy stalled. "So Shanks gave you this hat, no wonder it looks so familiar."

Buggy threw it to the ground in disgust.

"He always wore it when I knew him."

Luffy looked over, wide eyed at the man.

"So you did know eachother?" He asked.

"Yeah, we were on the same crew when we were in training," Buggy told him. "We were comrades, that damn, detestable, red haired, bastard!"

He emphasized his disdain by stepping on the hat, which caused Luffy to almost growl. He got up and ran for Buggy!

"Shanks is a better man than you'll ever be!" Luffy screamed. "You don't have the right to call him comrade and I won't have you bad mouthing him again!"

"Time for my Chop Chop Quick Escape," Buggy sang.

Unfortunately for him it wasn't quick enough as he received an elbow to the gut, followed by a kick that sent him to the ground.

"I can say whatever I want about Shanks," Buggy coughed before Luffy grabbed his face.

Luffy pulled him into a sitting position and pulled on his cheeks, stretching them apart.

"Tell me what happened between you two and where I can find him now," the straw hat wearer demanded before throwing him back to the ground. "How dare you tear up my treasured hat?"

"Do you really want to know?" Buggy asked as he sat up. "Shanks is the one man that I loathe the most. I will curse his name as long as there is breath in my body. I swear I will never forgive you Shanks."

* * *

**And there we have it, i dont know if i am going to go into detail about Buggy's past. This fic is already gonna be long enough, I might summarize it. I already plan to have the Gaimon arc only mentioned, not actually go through it. Well, hope you enjoyed, see you next week.**


	10. Luffy vs Buggy

**Me: "Hello everyone."**

**PR: "Hey." :Watching something on her laptop:**

**Me: "So you really have crossed the line."**

**PR looks up at me and slightly glares.**

**PR: -_- "Yes."**

**Me: "Well, don't worry, being a yaoi fangirl is nothing to be ashamed of."**

**PR: "You say that now, but wait till I start bugging you to pair Gnocx in a yaoi pairing."**

**Me: "You already have been, being a yaoi fangirl does not change this. And I think you're mild compared to some of the crazy yaoi fangirls on this site."**

**PR: "I'll give you that, I mean I don't pair any guy with any guy like some seem to."**

**Me: "There you go."**

**PR: "Can I disclaim today?"**

**Me: "Sure."**

**PR: "Shaded Truths own nothing but Gnocx and soon he won't even own him."**

**Me: "Huh?"**

**PR: "He won't own him after Gnocx kills him for not giving him a lover."**

**Me: "Oh, geez."**

* * *

Chapter 10

"In all my life," Buggy ground as he glared at Luffy. "I've never been as mad at someone as I have that Shanks. That bastard stole countless riches from me! I don't know how you two are connected, but I can say whatever the hell I want about him! I've earned that!"

Luffy just stared at him with a frown while Gnocx watched Buggy with mild interest as he sensed the darkness in him spark a bit at the mention of that man.

Buggy began with a telling of one day when he and Shanks were a part of the same crew. The day he was specifically recalling was one in which the two men had gotten into an argument, the subject of which made everyone's brow raised.

"You two fought about whether the North or South Pole was colder?" Gnocx asked.

"How dumb," Luffy stated.

"Shut up!" Buggy yelled before continuing.

After their argument was broken off with a cuff to each head, they were attacked. Buggy proceeded to say that he had lectured Shanks on 'the true meaning of being a pirate,' plundering treasures and striking it rich. During the raid he had killed a man and lifted a treasure map that was on his person. He then dramatically recalled how he hid the map from everyone but Shanks had 'snuck up on him'.

"I think what you mean to say is that you can't keep a secret," Gnocx deadpanned.

Buggy flushed as the moment played through his mind.

* * *

_It was the night after the attack and the crew was all celebratory. Buggy sat on an upper deck while his crewmates partied below. He unfurled the map and looked at it, so engrossed he was, that he jumped when someone approached._

_ "Hey Buggy! Aren't ya gonna come and party with us?" The inebriated Shanks, wearing the signature straw hat, slurred._

_ Buggy shrieked as he bungled with the map and forced it back into his shirt._

_ "What, I'm not hiding anything, it's not a map!" he unnecessarily denied._

_ "What are you talking about, Buggy?" Shanks asked as he pulled himself up on the deck._

* * *

"No one asked you, cripple!" Buggy screamed as he threw his glare back at Gnocx while Luffy started laughing. "Shut up, Strawhat!"

Buggy obviously differed in outlooks from Shanks. Judging from the story, Shanks had a knack for adventure and seeing the world, Buggy was only interested in money. They then discussed the devil fruit and how expensive it would be to sell. Buggy then told them about how he tricked his crew and tried to steal the fruit, which got Luffy to glaring. Luffy obviously placed a lot of value on loyalty.

Buggy then got angrier as he described his attempt to board a small dinghy. He was holding the devil fruit but then Shanks popped up again and he put it in his mouth to hide it.

"That bastard then had the nerve to hit me on the back and almost make me choke on it!" Buggy screamed into the air. "I had to swallow it and well… You can guess the rest."

"I can?" Luffy asked.

Gnocx sweat dropped as Buggy's jaw hit the ground.

"That was the Chop Chop Fruit, you idiot," Gnocx called over to him.

"Oh, I see," Luffy said as if there was nothing wrong.

"Moron!" Buggy cried. "As if that weren't enough, Shanks made my map fly away and into the ocean."

"And I suppose, like an idiot, you went in after it," Gnocx deadpanned.

"I said shut up!" Buggy screamed at him. "One more word and It will be the end of you!"

Gnocx just rolled his eyes.

"So are you telling me that Shanks saved you?" Luffy asked, inferring what the rest of the memory would be.

"That's not the point I'm trying to make!" The clown glared. "Because of what he did I couldn't get my map back and I lost my ability to swim."

His anger then diminished and he grinned.

"Then I decided that if I couldn't get all the ocean's treasures, then I would just get all the treasures on land instead. And now I won't let anyone who touches them live."

He pulled out more knives and separated his torso from his legs. Luffy followed his upper half with his eyes as it levitated higher into the air.

"And those who pilfer my treasure will pay!"

Gnocx's eyes widened when he looked behind Luffy to see Nami, with treasure bags in hand try to sneak away. Luffy seemed to catch on as well as he gasped.

"Come back here you thief!" Buggy demanded as his torso flew by Luffy and headed for the girl.

"Damn it he spotted me!" Nami screamed as she abandoned her attempt at stealth and ran.

Luffy only calmly watched before turning to look at Buggy's stationary legs.

Gnocx lifted a hand and summoned one of his swords. He stood and pointed the tip at the retreating Nami. The tip then started to glow and a beam of light shot out from it.

"You don't stand a chance of escaping me!" Buggy yelled as he approached quickly. "Now I'm going to flashily chop you up!"

Buggy didn't notice as the beam of light flew past him and went to Nami before exploding into a dome of hexagonal tiles around her.

"Reflect," the spell caster muttered as Nami stopped and gawked while Buggy sailed face first into the transparent dome.

Nami turned to look around then saw that Buggy had an extremely pained look on his face.

"Did it hurt, that bad?" She muttered to herself as she looked by him.

She gaped and Gnocx twitched as his grip on his sword fell slack. The reason being that they both turned their attention to Luffy.

Luffy huffed as he removed his foot from Buggy's most sensitive area, only accessible because he left his lower half unguarded. Nami watched as Buggy's upper half fell to the ground and the shield dispersed.

"My…balls… my balls…. That hurt," Buggy forced out as tears pooled in his eyes.

"Don't leave yet," Luffy grinned slightly maliciously. "We're just getting started."

He then looked at Nami, who was staring at Buggy's grounded form.

"Nami, you should drop that treasure and leave, or else he'll come after you again." Luffy told her.

"What? Hell no," she replied, to which Luffy only blinked at. "I'm not just gonna drop my treasure and go!"

"Did… you… just call it…your treasure?" Buggy hissed as he lifted his head.

"That's right, you heard me," Nami told the red nose confidently. "I'm a thief who steals from pirates and I just stole from an annoying one. So that makes this treasure mine now, got it?"

"Ah," Luffy exclaimed as he hit his fist into his palm. "That makes sense."

"No it doesn't," Gnocx said.

"It doesn't?" Luffy asked, frowning at him.

"Someone who steals from another person, no matter how evil or undeserving, is still a thief and they took something that wasn't theirs. Possession does not necessarily dictate ownership."

Luffy stared at him and cocked his head.

"Huh?"

Gnocx face palmed.

"Who asked you!" Nami screamed at the Nobody.

"For once I agree with the cripple, you dirty, rotten thief!" Buggy yelled. "What did your parents teach you?"

Nami deadpanned at him.

"A criminal lecturing another criminal? Ridiculous."

"What was that?" Buggy glared.

"Whatever, the day I take a morality lesson from you is the day I stop being a thief," Nami gloated as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, then, I hope you're ready for the consequences," Buggy said as he levitated back into the air. "Chop Chop, Festival!"

Buggy's body then proceeded to split into dozens of little pieces. Luffy gasped as Buggy's legs followed suit and the pieces sailed past him.

"Let's see you save your friend now, Gum Gum." Buggy goaded.

"What the," Luffy muttered, ignoring Buggy as he saw his feet walk by him.

Nami started to run again as Buggy's pieces flew after her. He started once he felt someone meddle with his feet.

Gnocx was about to activate another spell, but paused when he saw Luffy grab one of Buggy's feet and pull it out of its shoe. It looked like a comedy sketch as Luffy tickled the bottom of the foot, causing Buggy to laugh while he chased Nami, he then pulled on the skin, stretching it, causing Buggy's face to contort in pain.

"How do you like this?" Luffy said as he brought his fist down onto the foot.

"Gah!" Buggy screamed before he looked back at Luffy. "Knock it off!"

"No, you knock it off," Nami said as she brought the heavy bag she was holding up and into Buggy's face.

It connected, but unfortunately for Nami, it also connected with his severed hands. He grinned down at her as she struggled.

"Why thank you for giving my treasure back," Buggy sneered.

"Let go," she demanded as she shook the bag and his hands.

"You let go!" Buggy commanded as he twitched in irritation.

In the struggle, Luffy ran over to the struggling pair and jumped in the air.

"I told you,' he said as he kicked out, stretching his leg. "You haven't finished with me yet!"

Luffy's kick hit Buggy in the face and sent his head into a wall. Unfortunately for Nami, the treasure bag went with him and it ripped, spilling gold and jewels on to the ground. One by one, all of Buggy's parts fell to the ground and remained unmoving.

"Heh, consider that finishing move a gift from the old mayor," Luffy smirked at where Buggy's head was.

Nami sighed in relief as Luffy landed on the ground.

"Thanks," she told him.

"No problem," he replied. "Oh, wait, the map."

"My treasure!" Nami exclaimed at the same time as she took in the ruined bag and gold pile.

They both gasped as they saw Buggy's head floating above the treasure pile.

"You'll pay Gum Gum," the clown promised.

"He's still alive," Luffy stated as Nami snuck away.

"Assemble, Chop Chop parts!" Buggy cried.

Gnocx left the sleeping Zoro at the wall and walked over to where the fight was happening. He noticed Nami with a rope. She seemed to be wrangling random parts of Buggy together. He looked over and sweat dropped at the sight he met.

Luffy looked confused as Buggy's feet and hands came back to him…but that was all that came back to him.

"Eh?" he uttered.

"Looking for these, Buggy," Nami called as she tied the rope together, trapping his body parts in a neat package.

"My parts!" he cried as Luffy laughed.

"That was actually pretty clever," Gnocx complimented as he walked over to Nami.

She winked at him in response.

"Way to go thief," Luffy added as he swung both arms back and allowed them to stretch. "See ya, Buggy! Gum Gum Bazooka!"

Buggy could only scream as Luffy's attack connected, sending the miniscule man flying into the distance to where he became no more than a twinkle in the sky.

"I win!" Luffy cheered as he threw his hands in the air.

Nami sweat dropped at his antics, while Gnocx walked over to him.

"Good job," Gnocx said as he approached.

"Space Guy!" Luffy said. "When did you get a sword?"

_That's what he goes to?_ Gnocx deadpanned in his own mind before he held his hand out and made it appear.

"I've had it the whole time," he explained, used to the idiocy already.

"You shot a beam too!" Luffy exclaimed, going starry eyed.

Nami had gone to get two more bags, that she used to gather up the dumped treasure, as she did that, Luffy walked over to his torn hat and picked it up, looking somber.

"I'm sorry your hat got torn up," Nami said

"Don't worry," Luffy smiled as he put the ruined hat on his head. "I can still put it on and I got rid of Buggy, so I'm satisfied."

Nami stared at him a moment before looking away.

"If you want," she began. "I can fix it for you."

"Huh?" Luffy asked looking back at her. "What's that?"

"Oh, never mind." She huffed before holding up one of her bags. "I split this into two bags, so help me carry some of it. It's too heavy for me."

"You didn't have a problem carrying it all in one," Gnocx pointed out, earning a glare.

"That looks like a lot," Luffy observed causing her to smile.

"At least that clown knew treasure when he saw it," she beamed. "Now it's all mine, I bet I could sell it for at least ten million berris."

She set the bags down and pulled a furled up paper out of her pocket.

"Here," she said, handing it to Luffy. "It's the chart to the grand line."

"You're giving it to me?" Luffy incredulously asked.

"Because you saved my life," she explained, looking away.

"Thanks Nami!" he said as he took it from her. "Space Guy, we have it! A map to the grand line!"

"Yeah, yeah," Gnocx replied as he stood next to him.

"Why does he call you that?" Nami asked. "I don't even know you're real name."

"Does this mean you'll be our navigator too?" Luffy hoped.

"I told you, no matter what, I'll never join a pirate crew!" Nami yelled with her hands on her hips before smiling. "But okay, hanging around with you seems profitable enough. But remember this. I'm only joining you because it's in my interest."

"Sure," Luffy replied, brushing off her words before walking with Gnocx over to Zoro.

"Zoro, wake up!" Luffy ordered as he lightly slapped the back of Zoro's head. "We're leaving.

"Huh-wha, did we take care of everything," Zoro asked as he started awake and rubbed his forehead.

"Yep," Luffy told him. "We got a navigator, and we got a chart of the grand line."

Zoro looked back at Nami with an appraising look, before some of the color drained from his face.

"I'm not sure about this," he groaned as he sat cross legged. "I feel light headed."

"You're anemic, dummy," Gnocx said. "I took care of your stomach, but you still lost a lot of blood."

"It's always something with you three," Nami moaned.

"Hey, what does that mean?" Luffy whined.

"Are you kidding me!" she screamed. "You're the worst of them all!"

She turned away to regain her composure.

"Anyway, we should help the mayor."

"Oh, yeah, we should wake the old guy up," the strawhat agreed.

"You there!" called a voice.

The four looked ahead of them to see a large group of people gathering.

"Are you four residents of the village?" the man who called them asked.

"Nope," Luffy replied scratching his temple.

"Then what was all that cannon fire earlier?" he asked

"There just citizens," Gnocx observed.

"Oh, good," Nami breathed. "I thought they were more pirates."

One of the group spotted the unconscious mayor as Nami spoke.

"Hey, isn't that Mayor Boodle?"

The four watched as the group surrounded the mayor and tried to check on him.

"Those tyrants!" a woman yelled. "They did this!"

"No," Luffy corrected, causing the other three to stiffen. "I'm the one who kicked that old man's ass."

They were suddenly hailed by dozens of angry glares.

"I can't believe this," Gnocx said, contemplating hitting Luffy in the head.

"You didn't have to tell them that!" Nami whispered.

"But it's true," Luffy replied, blissfully unaware of the problem.

"Maybe you should explain yourself so they don't get angry," Nami whispered, but too late.

They turned back and were met with the angry mob of citizens, holding weapons.

"Why did you do it?" one of the men asked.

_They're getting bloodthirsty, _Gnocx assessed.

_We should be fine as long as they don't figure out we're pirates and thieves,_ Nami remained optimistic.

"We're pirates," Luffy told them.

Nami almost fell over in shock. Gnocx revisited his temptation with hitting him and Zoro started to crack up.

"You'll pay," one of them said as Luffy knelt next to Zoro.

"What now?" Zoro asked him as Gnocx picked up Zoro's swords, and Nami her treasure bags. "It doesn't look like they're up for a discussion."

Luffy smirked at him and that was the only warning before Luffy put Zoro's arms around his shoulders and took off, the green haired man along for the ride.

"Run!" Luffy cried ecstatically as Nami and Gnocx ran with him.

They ran toward the direction the docks were and they heard indignant cries from their pursuers.

"How do you always manage to make things worse?" Nami yelled as she struggled to not drop her bags.

"This is a good town," Luffy said, drawing Gnocx's attention. "They're all so mad just over that mayor. So, something tells me that they won't listen to our side of the story."

Throughout his monologue, Luffy kept the beaming grin on his face. Nami looked at him as she pondered his words. Gnocx snuck a look over his shoulder to see the villagers chasing them before looking back ahead of them.

"We're turning here," Luffy suddenly said, turning into a narrow alley.

"Wait," Nami said as she stumbled before going in.

Gnocx went in last and held his hand out behind him. A light blue ball of magic flew from his hand and hit the ground right at the turn, freezing it in ice. Luffy looked back and saw what he did, then laughed as villagers slipped on the ice, halting their pursuit even if momentarily.

They continued down the alley and Luffy smirked. One by one, the three mobile people jumped over an obstacle in their path. Luffy looked back at Chu-Chu as they kept running.

"Thanks, doggie!" he called as Chu-Chu snarled and barked at the villagers.

Having lost the villagers, thanks to Chu-Chu, the four made it to the docks and to their boats. Nami huffed as she dropped her bags in order to catch her breath.

"That was so close," she complained. "Why do we have to put up with this?"

"Does it matter," Luffy asked. "We're done here."

Luffy then noticed her boat and told her how great it was, even if it was only slightly bigger than theirs.

"I stole it off some stupid pirates a few days ago," she told them with pride.

"That's a big mouth you got there," a voice called from in the boat.

Nami started and Gnocx raised an eyebrow as the three crewman he and Zoro found before they got there appeared.

"You know these guys," Luffy asked her as they approached them.

"Sorta," she told him.

"It's more than that," one said as he walked in front of Luffy. "So these are your friends, huh?" he asked as he looked at Luffy and the back of Zoro's head. "I guess we should punish them then too."

He started to slap the back of Zoro's head to rouse him.

"Hey, buddy, wake up and take your medicine."

"I wouldn't do that," Gnocx said drawing his attention.

He looked at Gnocx and started in recognition.

"You're that guy!" he said before looking back at Zoro's head. "Then that means…"

The three goons screamed as the now awake and very grumpy Zoro glared at them. In a flash, they were gone, terrified of the swordsman's wrath.

Luffy and his crew boarded their respective boats and started to sail away from the island.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Zoro said to Nami as they got about 50 yards out. "Isn't that Buggy's mark on your sail?"

"It used to be his boat, think I should change it?"

Before anymore conversation could be had they heard a call from the shore.

"Hey, wait! Young ones!" Mayor Boodle called from the docks.

"It's the old mayor guy," Luffy stated.

On the dock, the mayor caught his breath before shouting again.

"Thanks!" he cried with tears running down his old cheeks. "Thank you!"

Luffy snickered as they sailed away.

"Don't worry about it!" Luffy yelled back. "Take it easy!"

As the island disappeared in the distance, Nami looked over to her treasure, she planned to examine it and estimate how much she could really get from it. The problem, there was only one bag.

"Where is my other bag?" Nami asked.

"Oh, that, I left it for the villagers," Luffy replied easily.

"What!" she exclaimed. "You left my treasure there!"

"They need it to fix their town," Luffy explained with a frown.

"So you gave them my treasure, you jerk!"

She reached across to his boat, grabbed his head, and tried to dunk it into the ocean.

"Stop I can't swim!"

"That's the least of your problems!"

Zoro laughed at the two as their argument continued. Gnocx only shook his head and looked out to the sea ahead.

"I'm still convinced that I'm the only sane one here," Gnocx said to himself, but was heard.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Nami glared as Luffy escaped her grasp and went to sit between Gnocx and Zoro.

"You like it, Space Guy," Luffy said as he stretched out.

"What do you know?" Gnocx asked.

"Ooo, show us a trick!" he exclaimed as he sat up and got onto his knees, his face getting into Gnocx's.

Gnocx looked at him, unperturbed by the closeness.

"You really wanna see one?" he asked, causing Luffy to nod and the other two to look at him. "Okay."

"Hooray!" Luffy cheered, causing Gnocx to cover his right ear, the ear closest to him. "What're you gonna do?"

Gnocx slowly brought his hand up and put it beside Luffy's head, palm facing the rubber man's face. Luffy looked over at it, excited.

"Goodnight," he deadpanned as a white wave left his hand.

"Huh?" Luffy mumbled as it hit him.

Luffy yawned then fell forward, asleep, unfortunately for Gnocx, falling forward meant falling onto him and his injured arm.

"Damn it," he hissed as he maneuvered his arm out from under Luffy.

Nami gaped at him and Zoro started laughing again.

"That's for making life difficult," Gnocx said to the sleeping captain, who he hadn't bothered to move so his torso was across Gnocx's legs.

"How did you do that?" Nami asked.

Gnocx looked over at her before smirking.

"Magic."

Nami blinked at him before scoffing.

"Fine, don't tell me, I gotta go count what I have left."

* * *

**Another week another chapter, done with the Buggy arc, next, Syrup Village. I plan to have Gnocx fighting in this arc, so he won't be sidelined again. I hope this chapter wasn't too horrible seeing as I didn't delve into Buggy's past. I just felt it would have been a waste of time. The part in the end was simply for fun, so if I have any homophobic readers, back the hell off. There will be no yaoi. At most there will be a bit of bromance between certain characters as we go. Until next week.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	11. Usopp The Liar

**Me: "Hey guys."**

**PR: "Make this quick, baka."**

**Me: "I'm trying! Sorry guys but the end of the semester is coming and we are kinda freaking out."**

**PR: "At least you don't have an academic adviser that hates you."**

**Me: "Oh my God, he doesn't hate you. You are not one of those bimbos that think Archaeology is all Indiana Jones type shit."**

**PR: "True.. But still... Disclaim!"**

**Me: "Usopp, get your ass out here!"**

**The door flies open and Usopp walks in all grandiose like.**

**Usopp: I am the Great Captain Usopp-"**

**PR: "Get on with it!" :Pulls out dagger and throws it at him:**

**Usopp screams like a little girl and ducks.**

**Usopp: "I just came down with IfIdisclaimthenI'lldie syndrome. Sorry!"**

**I glare a soul shattering glare at him that leaves PR mildly impressed.**

**Me: "Do it."**

**Usopp: "AAAAHHHHHH! He owns nothing!" :runs from room quicker than he arrived:**

* * *

Chapter 11

"We can't keep sailing like this," Nami told them all.

The two boats were sailing right next to each other and had been since they left the last island, two days ago. Right after Luffy had woken up from Gnocx's spell, he fumed at him for 'playing dirty' then did a 180 and asked Nami if there was any food on her boat. Recovering from the bizarreness of her new acquaintances' actions, she pulled out a large crate that was filled with apples. It took the combined efforts of Zoro and Gnocx to keep Luffy from eating the whole thing. Two days later, they only used up half of the crate.

At the sound of her complaint, Luffy, from his seat on the front of the boat, turned to face her, with an apple core in his mouth. He picked it from his mouth before putting it back in and swallowing it.

"You're right," he said after swallowing. "Eating fruit every day is for the birds."

"We'll also need some booze," Zoro added as he laid back.

That statement earned him an apple to the face, courtesy of the navigator.

"Are you an alcoholic?" Gnocx asked him, earning an obscene gesture via Zoro's middle finger.

"That's not what I mean, you boneheads," Nami said as she caught the apple that was thrown back to her. "The grand line is a dangerous place, we need more than meet and booze to get through it! Not to mention all the other pirates also after the One Piece that have much better ships than this!"

"We need a crew too," Luffy mused as he tossed another apple in the air.

"You do need more than four people on a crew," Gnocx added, not saying how surprising it was that something intelligent came from Luffy.

"We don't have a crew, we don't have equipment," Nami griped. "Or a real ship for that matter, there is no way we'll ever make it like this!"

"Yep," Luffy agreed easily. "We need a cook, and maybe a musician to keep us entertained."

"And he's back," Gnocx said with a sweat drop.

"A musician," Zoro repeated before he started to laugh.

"You're all so stupid," Nami groaned.

"Can you please not lump me with them?" Gnocx requested.

"I'll lump you where I want," Nami said with a half-hearted glare before slumping off.

She went and picked up one of her charts, examining it for any land that may be near.

"There's an island south of here with some settlements on it," she explained. "We may be able to get a ship and supplies when we get there."

"Fresh meat at last!" Luffy yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

"Some booze as well," Zoro added.

"Maybe I can see about speeding up my arm's healing," Gnocx said to himself, as over the last few days it didn't hurt him to make small movements anymore. "Surprising its actually healing fast considering all the stuff you've put me through already."

"Show me another trick, Space Guy," Luffy said, completely ignoring him.

"Would you like me to put you asleep again?"

"That's boring, do something new."

"What am I gonna do with you three?" Nami said, facepalming as Zoro rolled his eyes at Luffy's antics. "And I still don't know you're name."

Gnocx looked at her as she said that and started to ignore Luffy.

"Gnocx," he said simply.

She stared at him before rolling her eyes.

"What kind of name is that?" she asked.

"How the hell should I know, I didn't name myself."

A couple hours later, they found themselves drifting onto a beach. Once the boats stopped, they all stepped onto the land and stretched themselves out, spending two days in a cramped boat was uncomfortable after a while.

"It feels good to be on dry land again," Zoro moaned as he stretched his arm.

Luffy looked around with that excited gleam he gets. With his hat on his head he took in the sight, even though all they could see was the beach because, there was nothing but a large cliff in front of them, save for an incline that could be used to walk up to the top.

"There's a village around here somewhere, right?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah," Nami confirmed. "It's pretty small though."

"Ooo, oooh, then there has to be meat!" Luffy exclaimed, creeping Nami out when he all but got in her face. "There's gotta be a place that sells meat!"

"Just forget about meat," she glared at him.

Zoro stretched his other arm while he yawned. Suddenly he looked up at a bunch of shrubbery on the cliff. He cut his yawn and his hand went to his swords.

"We're being watched," he warned them, getting their attention.

"Huh?" Luffy muttered before looking around excitedly. "Really? By who? Where? Do they have meat?"

Gnocx and Nami looked up to the cliff and then Gnocx and Zoro both saw a slight rustle in the bushes.

"Look out!" Zoro shouted at Luffy.

"Wha-ah!" Luffy exclaimed as something impacted the sand in front of his feet.

He suddenly had to quickly move his feet as the ground was pelted with unseen projectiles coming from the cliff. Nami ran for the boats as Zoro and Gnocx looked up on the cliff.

The projectiles stopped as dozens of flags rose from the shrubs, making a barrier. On the flags were oddly designed skull and crossbones.

"That's so cool!" Luffy shouted, waving his arms excitedly.

"Are we supposed to be impressed?" Nami deadpanned from her hiding spot.

They were all drawn to a gloating laughter, they looked on the cliff, and right in front of them was a teenager standing with his arms crossed. The teen had curly black hair and wore a bandana with goggles, he also wore brown overalls with matching shoes and had a small bag slung over his shoulder. His most distinguishing feature was his long and narrow nose.

"I am the Great Captain Usopp! Leader of the group of pirates that rule this island! You stand before a living legend, the most revered pirate who ever lived!" the newly identified Usopp shouted down to them.

Strangely enough, Luffy's admiring look suddenly turned pensive as Usopp rambled on.

"Surely you must realize that attacking this island is pure suicide," Usopp told them. "My 80 million men and I will take you out if you try!"

"Awesome!" Luffy screamed in a loud, drawn out way.

Zoro, Gnocx, and Nami only looked at him with exasperated looks.

Nami sighed before she looked up at the smirking teen.

"You expect us to believe that?" she asked.

She looked at her before jumping.

"Gah, she knows," he said, completely shocked.

"You're up there and we're down here," Gnocx added, looking over to where the flags were, "The height makes it look as if the flags are taller than they really are, when in fact they barely go above the bushes, so my guess is that you roped a couple kids into this."

"And now we know you're lying," Nami finished with a smrk.

"Oh, crap, how could I be so dumb, I practically told her that I was lying!" Usopp despaired.

Nami sweat dropped at Usopp's response.

"What?" Luffy asked them. "He was lying?"

"Curse you both!" Usopp said, referring to the two who analyzed him. "Well maybe 80 million men was an exaggeration, but I still have a great many men under my control!"

"I'd say three," Nami deadpanned, looking at the flags.

Suddenly, screaming came from the bushes as three children jumped from them.

"Wah! She does know!" they cried before running away.

"Where are you guys going?" Usopp panicked. "Come back!"

Gnocx walked over to Luffy and bent down to pick up one of the projectiles, a small lead ball.

"A pirate using a slingshot," Nami grinned as she walked up to them. "Now I've seen it all."

"That's pretty cool," Luffy laughed, much to Usopp's chagrin.

"Shut up," he growled down at him. "Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you!"

Usopp reached into his bag and pulled out the same slingshot he used to fire at Luffy, he pulled it back, ball already in place.

"I'm a proud man and I won't stand for being laughed at," he glared. "One last chance, leave or you'll see why they call me Proud Usopp, and not Pushover Usopp."

Luffy stared up at him before pulling his hat down to shade his eyes.

"You've seen how good I am with this thing, so, you know I could rival anyone carrying a pistol."

Luffy grinned and tilted his head slightly upward to look at him.

"So you took your pistol out," he began. "But are you ready… to use it?"

Usopp's legs started to shake as he gaped at Luffy.

"Guns aren't for threats," Luffy told him. "They're for action. Are you ready to risk your life?"

Nami looked over at Luffy with a raised brow, as did Zoro and Gnocx. Zoro chuckled to himself as he was the first to catch on. He looked up at Usopp withdrew one sword about an inch.

"I can assure you, we're real pirates," Zoro advised. "Consider your next move, very carefully."

Usopp started to shake with a bit more intensity, but when he looked into the eyes of the two pirates challenging him. His resolve crumbled. He allowed the slingshot to snap back into place and he dropped his lead ball. With a defeated sigh, he fell to his knees.

"Real pirates have a lot more punch behind their words apparently, because they can back them up," Usopp groaned. "That's so cool."

Luffy and Zoro looked at one another for a second before both started to laugh. Gnocx shook his head at their chosen form of entertainment while Nami rubbed her temple.

"I stole that," Luffy told Usopp.

"Huh?" the long nose replied.

"I stole those words from Red Haired Shanks, a pirate I know," Luffy explained.

Usopp's eyes widened and he lurched forward so that he was on his hands and knees, looking down at him.

"You really are a pirate!" he said. "And you know Red Haired Shanks, oh man."

"Yep," Luffy grinned. "I know you're dad too, his name's Yasopp, right?"

This earned him befuddled looks from everyone. Usopp suddenly lurched in his excitement, unfortunately for him, that excitement sent him rolling off the cliff and down onto the sand. He quickly righted himself and looked at Luffy.

"You're right," he confirmed. "My dad's name is Yasopp. But…how do you know him?"

Luffy had gone on to explain that Yasopp was a member of Shank's crew and they had met when he was a boy. He told Usopp that he had to hear about him from Yasopp until his ears bled, showing the pride Yasopp had in his son. Before the conversation could go farther, Luffy's stomach acted up and Usopp led them all to a small tavern in his village. Not long after, Luffy was gorging himself on his precious meat. Gnocx sat next to him in the booth, drinking water, while Nami and Zoro sat across from them, boozing it up and eating a piece of bread respectively. Usopp gushed to Luffy about his dad while he told him more about how he was when he was a kid. The rest just listened to them.

"Maybe you could help us," Nami suggested, drawing Usopp's attention. "Do you know someone who we can get a decent ship from?"

"Uh, sorry," he said looking away. "We are a pretty small village."

"What about that huge mansion up there," Zoro asked, looking outside the window to the mansion up on a hill.

Usopp started at this and froze.

"Problem?" Gnocx asked.

"Hey, do you know them, Usopp?" Nami asked, hands folded. "Surely with all that money they can help us."

"You stay away from there!" Usopp yelled, suddenly changing moods.

The four looked at him with various gestures of confusion. Usopp suddenly started to sweat as he realized what he had done.

"Uh, I forgot, I need to go take care of something, see ya."

And with that statement, he fled from the building. Luffy took another bite of an apple, ignoring what just happened.

"I thought you were sick of fruit," Gnocx observed.

"It still tastes good," Luffy replied. "Besides, I had meat so I'm alright now."

"Why do you think he left in such a hurry?" Nami asked.

"Who knows," Zoro said, drinking a newly refilled mug of booze.

"He probably went to the mansion," Gnocx guessed. "I mean it's possible. He seems protective of it, so maybe he has a friend that lives there."

"You think?" Nami asked him, fetching more bread.

"I don't know, but did you guys notice that the villagers didn't really acknowledge him when we walked through. It's a small village so you'd think they'd be tight knit."

"I didn't notice, Space Guy," Luffy said as he chewed his apple.

"Well of course you wouldn't," Nami deadpanned. "You were more focused on stuffing yourself."

Before any more conversation, or jabs at Luffy, could be had, the doors to the tavern were thrown open. Standing in them, with tiny wooden daggers in their hands, were the three kids that Usopp had roped into his trick earlier.

"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!" they shouted in unison.

The old man at the bar just looked up from his paper for a second before going right back to it.

Nami turned around in her booth to look at them.

"Those are the kids from earlier," she observed.

The kids all had apprehensive looks on their faces

"Captain Usopp is gone," one of them said.

"Did they…" another one started.

One by one they ran up to the head of the table, where Usopp had been and started to shout at them.

"Fess up you filthy pirates," the one in the middle yelled. "What have you done with our beloved captain?"

"Tell us now!" the other two demanded.

Luffy just finished his drink and sighed contentedly while patting his enlarfed stomach.

"That meat was good," he said, rubbing his stomach.

The kids looked at his stomach then huddled together, shivering.

"What meat?"

"Are they pirates or cannibals?"

_Cannibals?_ Gnocx thought to himself while Nami chuckled at their antics.

Gnocx looked over to Zoro and saw that he adopted a very sadistic smirk on his face.

"You can't be serious," he said to him.

Zoro ignored him for his act of sadism.

"If you're looking for your captain," Zoro began ominously, before his smirk widened exponentially. "We ate him."

The kids shook harder then looked at Nami.

"Wah! Canniball!" they screamed, looking at her still.

"What are you punks looking at me for?" she demanded, pissed.

They kids continued to scream until they all fell onto their backs, panting. Zoro and Luffy cracked up while Gnocx shook his head.

"Was that necessary," Gnocx asked.

"That was funny you gotta admit," Zoro said, smacking the table repeatedly as he laugh.

"Of course you have to go and say something stupid!" Nami screamed at him.

Eventually the kids calmed down and Nami told them that Usopp had left.

"He must have went to see, Kaya," the child, now named pepper, as was now obvious as his hair was a dark green with a little sprig on top, making his head resemble the vegetable.

"Does she live in that mansion?" Gnocx asked them.

"Yep," the second one, named onion, and like his friend, his blonde hair makes his lead look like an onion. "She's been his friend for a long time. She's real sick and she has been since her parents died a year ago so he goes to her and tells her stories to help her feel better and to make her laugh."

"Do you think you could take us there?" Nami asked.

The children agreed and they left together, it didn't take them very long until they found themselves outside of a white metal fence, surrounding the house.

"Woah, this place is huge!" Luffy exclaimed.

"And if our captain is missing at this hour, this is where he has to be," Onion said.

"Great," Luffy said. "We should definitely ask her for a ship."

"We're not the ones who make her feel better, Usopp is," Zoro said patiently.

"I can't believe he is going to ask a random stranger for a ship," Gnocx said from next to him.

"Are you really that surprised?" Zoro asked him.

"I shouldn't be, but once again, the idiot manages to destroy my expectations."

"He has a habit of that," Zoro sighed.

"You can't get in," the kids told him. "Those guards at the gate won't let you pass."

"I'll get in," Luffy said as he jumped on the fence.

He grabbed the top with his hands and pulled himself back, stretching his arms and making himself a sort of spring.

"No you're not!" Zoro said as he ran at him.

"His arms are all stretchy!" the kids screamed as they boggled at his powers. "He's some kind of monster!"

One by one, the six of them grabbed at his body at random, to keep him from launching, unfortunately it was not enough.

"Pardon the intrusion!" Luffy exclaimed. "Gum Gum Rocket!"

He flung himself above the fence, and high into the air, but he also was forced to bring the six people with him so know they were all suspended in the air, and freefalling.

"Yahoo!" Luffy screamed as he plummeted, landing face first onto the ground and causing a dust cloud to rise. Gnocx and Zoro both landed on their backs and made cracks in the sidewalk they landed on. Nami somehow managed to land with out hurting herself, as did the kids.

"That went well," came Luffy's muffled voice.

"Yeah, real well!" Nami growled at him.

Gnocx and Zoro both sat up and Zoro hit Luffy on his head, pushing it further into the ground. Gnocx decided to give into the temptation and hit him as well.

"Idiot," he muttered as he stood up, silently thanking anything because his arm didn't even hurt.

"My goodness are you okay?" a female's voice called.

The group looked up to see a girl about Usopp's age looking down at them from her window. She had blonde hair that reached her shoulders and wore a white pajama gown.

Usopp, who was sitting in the tree outside her window, panicked at seeing them.

"Don't mind them, Kaya," he said, trying to do damage control. "This happens to me all the time. It's just the price of being a famous adventurer. Can't get away from all the adoring fans. They're new recruits that heard about me and wanted to join the Usopp Pirates."

"Yeah and you can use real magic," Nami whispered to Gnocx as he helped her up.

Gnocx only closed his eyes with an amused smirk.

"Nope," Luffy denied as he stood. "I actually came here to see you."

"Me?" Kaya asked.

"I wanted to ask a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yeah, I was wondering If there was a way you could help us get a boat—"

"You there," a stern voice interrupted.

They all looked toward the entrance of the mansion where they saw a tall man in a black uniform approaching. He had short, black hair that was slicked back and he wore glasses.

"What do you think you are doing here?" he demanded as he approached.

He lifted his hand and used the heel of his palm to adjust his glasses.

"Klahadore," Kaya whispered.

"I'll have you know that this is criminal trespassing," the butler, Klahadore warned.

"Hey guys, who's he?" Luffy asked them causing them to shake their heads at him.

* * *

**There you have it, the first part of the Syrup Village Arc. I seriously can't wait until I can realistically have Gnocx be amused and laugh. He's stiff right now.. ugh. but I can't rush it. In another Volume or two I can be more whimsical with him. Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this and I shall see you next week.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	12. The Hypnotist and Murder Conspiracy

**Me: "Welcome back."**

**PR: :glares: "You're-"**

**Me: "Don't say I'm late, this was done Wednesday! My internet was being a bitch all day and wouldn't even load my homepage, which is google... So it is just now working so I can do this."**

**PR: "I suppose I believe you."**

**Me: :deadpans: "Thanks for that. And sorry about your Sony."**

**PR: :sits in the corner as a shadowy aura of despair surrounds her: "All my stories, music and some of my original work...gone."**

**Me: "Please come out. You'll be okay... Do I need to get Kurama in here?"**

**PR: "Would you?" :looks sad but has a glimmer of hope:**

**Me: :smiles: "He's outside the room, Hiei might be with him too, and I think I might have seen a tall man with silver hair...and glasses."**

**PR: :comes up to me: "Soubi?"**

**Me: :smirks: "I can't bring them in here because this is One Piece, but go ahead." : gestures to door:**

**PR: "Thank you!" :power walks out of the room:**

**As soon as the door shuts, Zoro, Luffy, and Gnocx walk in. Gnocx and Zoro each have an arm around Luffy's torso and are dragging him in.**

**Luffy: "Let me go! I wanna meet the other Space Guys, Space Guy."**

**I smile in amusement.**

**Gnocx: "Later Luffy, not when she's with them. Let her have her time."**

**Luffy glares before slumping into the sofa, Gnocx and Zoro sit on either side of him.**

**Zoro looks to me and crosses his arms.**

**Zoro: "Do you notice how chummy you make us?" :gestures to Gnocx and himself:**

**Me: "Honestly, at first no, I only really wanted a close friendship between Gnocx and Luffy in the beginning, but the more this story goes on the more I feel that you two have a good friendship compatibility. Nowhere near the level you and Luffy have but still."**

**Gnocx: "I don't mind but don't I get a best friend sometime?"**

**Me: "Not for a while."**

**Luffy: "You should stop being mean to Space Guy, I'll kick your ass if you don't."**

**I roll my eyes.**

**Gnocx: "Luffy, I know how my story ends and its worth whatever suffering I end up having."**

**Zoro scoffs at him.**

**Zoro: "I wouldn't put up with it."**

**Me: :side eyes the audience and holds up a card that says, "Kuma, pain, excessive bleeding, or Mihawk anyone?"**

**Zoro: "What did you just do?" :glares: **

**Me: "Nothing." :flips the card and it now says, 'I own nothing': "Now we can chat while the audience reads and PR is being comforted by her men."**

* * *

Chapter 12

"Who's that?" Luffy asked as the butler walked closer.

He stopped about a dozen yards away and simply glared at the seven of them, plus Usopp, who was in the tree.

"Uh, actually, Klahadore, they're—" Kaya began.

"Not now, Kaya," the butler sniped as he adjusted his glasses in the same strange manner as before, with the heel of his palm. "You can tell me all about these riff-raff after they've left, now begone," he ordered, turning his attention to the intruders. "Leave now unless you have some business with me."

Luffy perked at that.

"Alright," he said, causing Zoro and Gnocx to side eye him, aggravated and neutral respectively. "Do you think you could help us get a ship?"

The butler adjusted his glasses a third time, the light from the sun reflecting in a glare and obscuring the man's eyes.

"Certainly not!" he denied, causing Luffy to slump with an 'aww'. "Usopp!"

Usopp, who had been attempting to climb higher in the tree as to shroud himself, jumped.

"Oh, crap," he muttered.

"You have quite the reputation," Klahadore patronized. "You're very well known in the village."

Usopp, who had been hanging onto a limb of the tree, chuckled nervously.

"Heh, heh heh, sure am," he stuttered.

"I hear you've been on many an adventure," Klahadore continued. "That's quite impressive for someone as young as you."

"Usually people who admire me call me Captain," Usopp boasted, confidence back. "So it's Captain Usopp to you."

"Moron," Gnocx whispered, prompting Zoro and Nami to nod and the kids to glare at him.

"Captain, huh?" the help mused as he once again adjusted his glasses. "You're father also had something of a reputation."

Usopp froze and glared at Klahadore.

"What?" he ground as Kaya looked back and forth between the two.

"Klahadore, just stop!" she ordered.

"You'll never be more than the son of a filthy pirate," Klahadore jabbed, ignoring his mistress' order.

Luffy stared at the man with pensive eyes as he continued.

"Who knows what sort of trouble you're up to now. All I ask is that you and your kind leave this respectable young lady alone."

"A filthy pirate?" Usopp glared, seeming to block out his latter words.

"You come from completely different worlds and you know it! Is it money that you're after? How much do you want?"

"Cease this at once, Klahadore!" Kaya intervened, almost throwing herself out of the window in her indignation. "Apologize to him at once!"

"Kaya, calm down," Usopp said gently, his mood shifting in his concern.

"I do not believe I have any reason to apologize to this savage young man, my lady," he replied, stiff postured, and another adjustment to his glasses. "My goal isn't to slander; I am merely stating the truth. I sympathize with your situation. You must hate your idiot of a father who abandoned his family and his village, because of his mindless lust for treasure."

"Klahadore stop!" Kaya screamed.

"Don't you dare…" Usopp seethed, mood flipping again. "Insult my father ever again."

Kaya gasped as he suddenly leapt from the tree, Usopp glared at Klahadore as he pulled a hook from his bag, he let it attach to the tree limb on his way down and the rope tied to it allowed him a safe drop. After he hit the ground, the hook detached from the tree and zipped back into his bag, confirming it to be mechanical in nature.

He glared at Klahadore, who just stood calmly, staring back.

"Why are you so worked up, Usopp?" Klahadore asked as he smirked at him. "Why don't you just do what you do best and lie. Tell me about how your father is really a travelling salesman, or how you aren't really related by blood—"

Any further insult was stopped as Usopp suddenly jumped forward, closed the gap apart, and slugged the butler right in the face. His glasses flew from his eyes as he fell back.

Kaya covered her mouth at the display while the kids gasped and the straw hats stared quietly.

"Captain!" the boys yelled.

Klahadore sat up and glared back at him.

"Case and point," he said. "He resorts to violence, guess the apple never falls far from the tree now does it?"

"Shut up!" Usopp yelled, causing Klahadore to visibly flinch.

"My father followed his heart! And it led him to the life of adventure and I am proud to say that my old man is a brave adventurer of the sea! You're right! I have been known to exaggerate from time to time, but I will never lie about who my father is! I refuse to be ashamed of my heritage! I am the son of a pirate!"

"Heheheh, pirates are brave warriors of the sea, are they?" Klahadore mocked. "That's quite a twisted way of putting things."

Usopp looked at him questioningly as he stood and dusted himself off.

"You are the very proof of his savage blood," he continued. "You resort to violence when you don't get your way. To top it off, you cozy up to the lady of the house so you can steal her fortune."

"You're wrong," Usopp denied. "I—"

"Your father is a filthy, no good pirate!" the man shouted. "Treachery is in your blood. Of course you would have such an evil scheme!"

Usopp grabbed the man's collar and pulled back his fist.

"You won't let up will you?" he cried.

"Usopp!" Kaya screamed. "Stop it right now, please! No more violence! I can't take it!"

Usopp stopped his fist and gritted his teeth. After a second's pause he slowly let his grip on the collar loosen before surrendering it completely.

"Klahadore's not a bad person," Kaya reasoned. "He's just…he's just trying to do what he thinks is best for me and sometimes he goes too far."

Klahadore smacked Usopp's hand away and put his glasses back on.

"Leave this place," he ordered. "You're never to come here again."

Usopp glared at the man as he lowered his fist.

"Yeah, I get it," he seethed. "You don't need to tell me twice, buddy."

He walked by him and for the gate.

"This is the last you'll ever see of me."

Usopp broke into a run as he kept going. From where the others were, the kids all ran closer to Klahadore and pointed at him.

"Hey our Captain's not like that!" Carrot argued.

"Yeah, Jerk face!" Pepper agreed.

"Jerk face!" Onion contributed.

Zoro had to punch Luffy in the head as he began his own cry of 'Jerk face'.

"Shut up," Zoro told him. "You don't have a bone to pick with him."

Klahadore glared down at the kids, scaring them and causing them to hide behind Nami's legs as Zoro had to put his arms through Luffy's shoulders to keep him from charging Klahadore.

"Why are you hiding behind me?"

"It's you or the cripple!"

"Again with the cripple?"

"Come on, Luffy knock it off!"

"Let me go, Zoro, I'm serious, put me down!"

"Hey can you put him to sleep again or something?"

"Why would I? This is too entertaining."

"You son of a—"

"Put me down, put me down, I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"You will all leave, immediately!" Klahadore shouted, cutting through all the voices.

* * *

With nothing that could be done, they did indeed leave. A short time later, Zoro, Gnocx, Nami and the two of the three kids were in various positions on a white fence that bordered a pathway that cut through scenic hills. Nami was seated on top of the fence, while Gnocx was to her left; leaning on it, and Zoro was to Gnocx's left, sitting on the ground with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Where did Luffy go, anyway?" Nami asked, referring to their missing captain.

"Who knows," Zoro replied.

"Don't lie," Gnocx said to him.

"Tsk, he probably went after that 'captain,'" the swordsman corrected with a yawn.

"You two…" Nami groaned.

"I bet he's at the secret spot," Pepper told them.

"Yeah," Carrot confirmed. "At the shore. He always goes there when he's gonna think something over."

"Should we go see?" Pepper asked, leaning his head forward so he could see past Nami and Gnocx's legs to Zoro.

"Huh?" Zoro muttered, surprised and confused as to why they'd ask him. "He's fine."

"And by he, he means Luffy," Gnocx told the kids.

"Luffy can take care of himself," Nami added. "But what about your other friend?"

The two kids replied, regarding their third friend, Onion.

"Come to think of it, Onion just disappears a lot," Pepper said.

"Yeah," Carrot parroted. "Then he shows up out of nowhere, all freaked out."

Almost as if on cue, the third child came running up the hill toward them, screaming and with tears falling down his face.

"Terrible news, guys," Onion cried as he ran.

"You see," Carrot said calmly while the others sweat dropped.

"Listen to me!" Onion shouted as he stopped and huffed. "Some nut job is on his way here and he only walks backwards!"

"…Huh?" Zoro said.

"….Excuse me?" Gnocx asked, not totally sure he heard right.

"What?" Nami questioned.

"You liar," Carrot and Pepper synchronized.

"It's the truth!" Onion insisted before he spun on his heel and pointed behind him. "See, there he is!"

As one, the other five followed the child's finger to see none other than a man's back as he walked backwards toward them. From behind they could see he had long grey hair, a blue jacket and hat, brown gloves, and green pants. They just watched as he got closer. He eventually spun around to face them and looked upon them with a frown that no one could notice because of the ridiculous heart shaped glasses he was wearing.

"Now," the man's oily voice said. "Which one of you dares to call me weird?"

He did a quick shuffle with his feet while holding one hand on his hat.

"I'm just a normal guy."

The oldest of his audience just stared at him with bored expressions.

"Is that so," Nami said.

"You look insane," Gnocx added.

Zoro just yawned.

"Not really," he denied. "I'm just your normal, run of the mill, hypnotist."

"Really?" Onion asked. "Awesome!"

Zoro pulled on Gnocx's sleeve, causing him to kneel down next to him.

"Are hypnotists even real?" he asked.

Gnocx took the chance to look smug, despite getting no satisfaction from the question.

"I suppose this means you believe what I said earlier?" he asked, referring to before he told Luffy he'd travel with him.

"Just answer the question, smart ass," Zoro replied with a mild glare.

Gnocx shook his head before blanking his face again.

"I've never come across one, but I would have to say they do somewhere, I just don't know about here."

They were brought out of their conversation as they heard the kids beg for the 'hypnotist' to show them something.

"You fools," the man gritted. "What makes you think I'd want to show my masterful hypnotism techniques to a bunch of roadside strangers."

Three seconds later he pulled a disc with a string that reminded Gnocx of a chakram out of his coat and dangled it in front of them.

"Okay, you convinced me. Now watch the ring closely."

_What a ham,_ the three teens thought simultaneously as the ring swayed back and forth in front of the kids.

"By the count of Jango, you'll be in a deep sleep. You ready?"

The kids merely followed the metronome like movement of the disc with their eyes.

"One…Two….Jango."

Four thuds later and all four of them were snoring on their backs, and the hypnotist still had his arm up with the disc still swinging.

"Who is this freaky weirdo?" Zoro said as his forehead twitched.

"Why am I not surprised?" Gnocx asked himself.

Nami just exhaled and shook her head.

* * *

On a cliff at the shore, Usopp sat cross legged under a tree, just staring out over the horizon. He had been sitting for a while, not knowing he would be interrupted.

"Hi," Luffy greeted as he suddenly appeared, upside down in Usopp's vision. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to be alone, but I guess that's not happening!" Usopp glared at the teen who was hanging upside down. "What do you want?"

"Oh, you know," Luffy replied as he put his hands on the ground and walked himself away far enough so that his feet would slip out of their hold, causing him to fall to the ground. "Nothing."

Usopp just stared a moment as Luffy righted himself, the Strawhat Captain sat with his back to him and clapped his feet together.

"I can't believe that butler said that stuff about my dad," Usopp sighed, spilling his guts.

"Yeah," Luffy agreed, ceasing his actions. "I hate that guy too. No matter what anyone says, Yasopp was a great pirate."

Usopp smiled and crawled to sit beside him.

"Yeah, really," he grinned. "I've always lived up to my old man for living everyday with his life on the line. Out on the open ocean. He made a brave choice and I admire him for that."

"Are you ever gonna see that girl again?" Luffy asked.

Usopp sighed as the irritation left his body.

"I don't know, maybe if that butler apologizes to me first," Usopp replied.

"You mean that butler down there?" Luffy pointed down to the water.

Usopp looked down to see Klahadore walking with another man along the rocky shoreline.

"Yeah that's the one—" he suddenly lurched forward, pushing Luffy's head into the ground accidentally to get a closer look. "What is he doing here?"

"What's the big idea?" Luffy's muffled complaint went out only to be ignored.

Down below, Klahadore stared at his companion.

"Hey, Jango, didn't I tell you to be inconspicuous?" he asked the hypnotist dangerously. "That doesn't mean sleeping in the road."

"Relax, man," Jango replied. "I've perfected the skills of the chameleon. I blend in."

"Who's the weird guy?" Luffy whispered.

"I've never seen him before," Usopp stated.

"So," Klahadore started, unaware of his observers. "Have all the preparations been made?"

"But of course," Jango replied. "We can start anytime… On the rich girl murder plan."

From their vantage point, Luffy and Usopp gasped in shock at the words.

"M-Murder?" Usopp tried not to panic.

Klahadore grimaced and adjusted his glasses.

"Don't call it murder, Jango," he scolded. "I don't like the sound of it."

"Oh, right," Jango oiled. "It's an accident, an accident, that you planned."

"What are they talking about?" Luffy asked, nonchalant about their situation.

"Shut up," Usopp whispered. "If we listen a little closer, we can find out."

"We simply can't just kill her," Klahadore explained. "It is crucial that Miss Kaya is in an unfortunate accident, so don't screw that up!"

Jango sat on a rock nearby with his hands in his pockets.

"So basically, on your signal, the men and I storm the village and manage to 'accidentally' kill the little rich girl. Then you get her inheritance and we get paid, right?"

"You moron," Klahadore interrupted. "Your ignorance is astounding. We are not related so how can I inherit anything from her?"

"You'll work very hard to," Jango replied dumbly.

"No, Jango, I won't," Klahadore sighed. "Listen, because this is the most important part, before you kill her, you'll use your hypnosis to make her write her will. And it will say, 'I leave my entire fortune to my butler, Klahadore.'"

Usopp's eyes widened as he heard the plan.

Klahadore grinned evilly as he stared Jango down.

"Then and only then will I have control over her massive fortune. And no one will suspect a thing."

Usopp shivered in horror as the treacherous butler continued his rant.

"I have spent three years here gaining everyone's trust, so it wouldn't be surprising to anyone for her to leave the entirety of her inheritance to me."

Jango stood from his rock and walked to the water's edge.

"Three years as a butler for this, huh?" he mused. "You really had us scared back then, Captain Kuro. Three years ago, you said you were giving up your life as a pirate."

Luffy and Usopp's eyes widened at this statement and they finally had Luffy's total attention.

"Three years ago, you easily set someone up as your double, and let the world watch as 'Captain Kuro' was executed."

Jango smirked as he looked back at his captain.

"Only now do I understand that that was actually the beginning of 'this' plan. After all, you are 'The Man with a Thousand Plans'."

"Never call me that again," Kuro glared. "I abandoned that name years ago. I now wish to attract my wealth without attracting the attention of the World Government."

He smirked as he held a hand up in a placating gesture.

"In other words…. I'm a pacifist."

Jango snickered and held his stomach to keep from roaring with laughter.

"Some pacifist you are," he said in glee. "Murdering an entire family, doesn't exactly qualify as peaceful."

"Hold on," Kuro interrupted with a furrowed brow while he adjusted his glasses. "I haven't murdered an entire family… The father's death wasn't planned."

"Whatever you say," Jango shrugged. "It makes no difference to me. Hurry up and give the word. The crew is getting bored. We've been waiting in the waters here for over a week. And they're growing more anxious by the minute."

The waves crashed on the shore, creating a perfectly ominous ambience as Usopp clutched at the ground like some kind of anchor.

_This is horrible, _he despaired. _This is really horrible._

"So they're bad guys huh?" Luffy surmised as he clicked his sandled feet together in the air behing him.

"They're not just bad, they're pure evil," Usopp said. "Captain Kuro is known to be the most devious scheming pirate around. He's known for his smarts but he is legendary for his brutality. Word had it that the marines caught and executed him three years ago. But he's alive and well and posing as Klahadore the butler. He's had his eyes on Kaya's fortune… for three years."

Luffy watched him gradually start to freak out.

"First they'll attack the village, and then they'll kill Kaya. This is bad, seriously bad!"

Usopp clutched his head as he began to shake. Not noticing until it was too late that Luffy stood up.

"Get down or they'll see you," he hissed.

Luffy breathed in and glared.

"Hey, bad guys!" he screamed. "You better stay away from that girl!"

Usopp planted his face to the ground, in fear and exasperation.

Jango and Kuro looked up at Luffy.

"Who are you?" the hypnotist asked.

"Come on, you idiot," Usopp said as he grabbed his arm and tried to pull him with him. "They saw you now we need to go before they decide to make you mincemeat."

"Well now," Kuro said in a low tone as he glared. "If it isn't the mischievous town liar."

Usopp yelped as he was called.

"Oh no! I'm spotted too!"

"Did you… hear anything," Klahadore asked in a tone that promised pain if he got an affirmative response.

"Uh, uh no," Usopp said shaking his hands in a denial. "Nope, we just got here, I don't know what you mean, so… we didn't hear anything about anything."

"We heard it all," Luffy said, causing Usopp to smack him upside the head.

"Shut up."

Kuro chuckled darkly before looking at Jango and gesturing forward.

"Well, if you say so," the hypnotist complied, pulling out his disc.

"Pay attention boys!" he called. "And watch this ring, closely."

"Hm?" Luffy questioned. "Okay."

"Don't you get it, it's some kind of weapon, we gotta run!" Usopp said from behind him.

"On a count of Jango, you'll be in a deep sleep, are you ready?"

"One,"

"Run for cover, he's gonna kill us!" Usopp screamed.

"Two,"

Usopp dived to the ground and covered his ears while Luffy continued to watch.

"Jango!"

Luffy suddenly slumped and he started to snore. Usopp looked up just in time to see him start to tilt over the edge of the cliff.

Down on the rocks, Jango, like before, had fallen asleep, and was leaning against Kuro's back, who twitched in irritation.

"Still falling asleep on the job I see," he seethed.

"Hey, be careful," Usopp said to Luffy's tilting body. "You're gonna fall."

No sooner than he said it, Luffy plummeted over the edge and landed, head first on the rocks, bringing up a dust cloud with the impact.

Usopp scrambled to the edge and gaped in horror.

"Oh my, he had to fall off a cliff," Jango tsked, now woken. "Such a shame, I didn't mean to kill him. But there's no way he could have survived."

"They killed him," Usopp whispered to himself as he shook. "He's really…dead."

"What about the other one," Jango asked. "Want me to take care of him?"

"There's no need," Klahadore replied, adjusting his glasses.

He looked up at Usopp with an even face.

"Anything he could say would sound like…lies."

"Bring the men tomorrow at daybreak, Jango, according to plan," Kuro continued.

"Tomorrow," Usopp breathed.

"Face it, Usopp," the butler gloated. "There's nothing you can say or do to stop it."

Usopp took this as his cue and shot up. He ran off clumsily, screaming the whole way.

"Are you sure about that one?" Jango asked as Usopp's screams faded.

"Of course I am," Kuro sneered, looking at Luffy's motionless body, which had landed resulting in his back being bent as his legs covered his head. "My plans are flawless."

* * *

_I can't believe this, _Usopp despaired as he ran. _Everyone in the village I grew up with… they're gonna attack them…. They're gonna kill Kaya._

Tears started to flow, but his speed remained constant.

_I can't let this happen, I can't let this happen to the people I love._

* * *

**I never really realized how much I actually liked this arc, which is surprising because Usopp is not my favorite Strawhat to say the least. The action starts next chapter I think. Is it sad that the only thing I'm thinking about is what Gnocx is gonna say when Usopp asks what they are good at? Anyway, I think I'm doing a decent job in balancing characters, people with OC stories tend to make their character(s) front and center constantly. I get annoyed with that and Mary-Sue comes to mind. Gnocx will have some spot light coming up but not so much as to detract from the One Piece world's canon. See you guys next week.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	13. The Boy Who Cried Pirate

**Me: "Hey guys!" :excited:**

**PR: "Dare I ask?"**

**Me: "My one shots."**

**PR: "Obsessed!"**

**Me: "I'm sorry! but Who I am has 24 favorites and 5 reviews while All The Things They Said has 15 and 6 and Romance Novel has 8 and 8. These numbers are numbers I never imagined getting. My writing isn't that good."**

**PR: :glares: "I'm not arguing this again, who is disclaiming?"**

**Me: :whistles: **

**The door opens and Nami walks in.**

**Nami: "Let's get this over with."**

**PR: "Hello Nami."**

**Nami: "Hey, girlfriend."**

**Me: "Okay, Nami saying girlfriend scares me so just disclaim."**

**Nami: :rolls eyes: "This idiot author hear owns nothing."**

**Me: "If I did I'd give Nami smaller breasts just to spite her."**

**Nami: "Why you son of a bitch!" :glares at me and whaps me on the head with her bo staff as she leaves:**

**PR: :snickers as I nurse my bump then turns serious: "You need to write that new idea you told me about last night!"**

**Me; :sigh: "I know, but not after finals, and I need to think about replacing volume 6's world now. I'm thinking of actually sending him to a Disney world."**

**PR: "Send him to Atlantica, make him a merman, that would mean he gets to be shirtless and I can totally get behind that idea."**

**Me: :sweatdrops: "You realize you are probably the only one who knows what he looks like, unless someone else has been able to piece it together with the description in Volume One."**

**PR: "What does that have to do with anything?"**

**Me: :sighs again: "I need to get Seimei here."**

**PR: "Seimei! Can you, please?!" :neko ears that appeared from nowhere twitch:**

**Me: "What the hell is wrong inside my head?"**

* * *

Chapter 13

"Captain has been gone for quite a while?" Carrot said as the group of six stood in various positions by the same fence they were when they met the hypnotist.

"Yeah, Luffy too," Zoro muttered, irritated and bored.

"He's just most likely at the shore, like we said," Onion shrugged off.

Carrot and Pepper stood and walked onto the pathway through the hills. They tried to get a look at the trail leading to the shore to see if they could catch sight of Usopp.

"Hey," Carrot said, pointing down the path.

The other five perked and craned their necks to look with him, they started as they saw Usopp running toward them, face purely determined.

"There he is!" the kids cheered.

"I thought Luffy was supposed to be with him?" Zoro said.

"He probably got lost," Gnocx said. "His sense of direction is probably like yours."

Zoro twitched but said nothing as Usopp got closer.

"Hey," Nami said as he ran by them. "Is Luffy still at.. the…. Beach?"

"That was strange," Gnocx observed, straightening himself from his relaxed position.

"Do you think he's still upset at the butler?" Nami asked, bewildered.

"Who knows," Zoro groaned, rubbing his head. "We need to find Luffy."

"Wait!" Pepper said as the kids watched Usopp run into the distance. "That wasn't a mad face."

"Yeah," Onion agreed. "It was a tragic face of sheer desperation."

Gnocx and Nami looked the slightest bit skeptic while Zoro looked down at the kids.

"Why don't you guys show us the way to that shore," Zoro requested.

"This smells like an adventure to me," Onion said as the three children huddled together to whisper excitedly.

"Yeah, this looks like a call for the Usopp Pirates!" Carrot cheered.

"Enough already!" Zoro ground. "How do we get to this place?"

Nami jumped off the fence and she and Gnocx walked onto the path with Zoro so the kids could lead.

* * *

Usopp finally stopped as he reached the outskirts of Syrup village, the small village consisted of a few dozen small houses that had a network of pathways connecting them all.

The liar took a large breath and straightened his body from its hunched position.

"Terrible news," Usopp started quietly before gradually getting louder. "Pirates! Pirates are coming! Run! We don't stand a chance! Everybody run! Run!"

When no one even bothered to exit their houses to respond, Usopp looked around, panicking more and more for each second that slipped by.

"The pirates are gonna attack at noon tomorrow!" he cried. "We gotta get outta here! What are you doing, run! Are any of you even listening to me? Pirates!"

He looked to the side, beaming and relieved as he heard the creaking of doors and mutterings of village folk. His smile quickly died as all he was met with was a group of glaring men holding a variety of blunt objects.

"Alright, Usopp," one of the men said tiredly. "Enough is enough."

"We're tired of this prank you pull every other day," another added. "It's time we put a stop to this, here and now."

"What?" Usopp asked, baffled. "It's not a trick, it's the truth this time, I swear."

"Stop it!" an older man yelled, cutting him off. "We all know you're nothing but a liar."

"It would do you some good to follow Klahadore's example of honesty and hard work," one of the few women to come out scolded.

Usopp gasped while he visibly flinched as Kuro's words came back to him.

_ Everything he could say would sound like… lies._

_ I have spent three years here gaining everyone's trust, so it wouldn't be surprising to anyone for her to leave the entirety of her inheritance to me._

_ I have spent three years gaining everyone's trust…_

_ He knew, _Usopp despaired in his own mind. _Klahadore knew that no one would believe me. He was counting on it._

He shrank back as the continued glares burrowed in his mind, but then flashes of the conversation he overheard played in his mind and he swallowed his anxiety.

"Just hear me out," Usopp begged. "They're gonna be here tomorrow at dawn. You have to believe me; I'm not lying this time I swear! They're gonna murder us!"

"You'll be lucky if we don't murder you!" one of the villagers angrily yelled.

The mob advanced menacingly and Usopp had no choice but to turn and run for it.

"I'm not lying!"

"Don't let him escape!"

* * *

"Here we are," Pepper announced as the six made it to the edge of the island and the shore. "This is the place that captain comes to think at."

"I don't see that strawhat guy anywhere," Onion said as they looked around the small hill they were on.

Nami moved toward the edge that overlooked the rocks below and jumped as a piece of granite broke off from under her foot and fell to the rocks below.

"The rocks here are pretty loose," she observed.

"Be careful, Nami," Gnocx advised. "Zoro and I will hear it from that idiot if something happens to you."

Nami turned to look back at them, but froze as she caught sight of something by the water.

"Luffy?" she screeched as she saw his strangely displayed body on the rocks.

The other five joined her and looked out to see the same thing.

"Luffy?" Zoro repeated, shocked and confused.

"What the hell?" Gnocx wondered.

"It's the strawhat guy," Pepper said.

"Yeah, and his butt," Carrot added, noting the fact that Luffy's body had landed that his butt was sticking up in the air.

The three older of the group rushed down to Luffy in whatever way they could, Zoro by jumping down using rocks, Gnocx jumping off the cliff and making himself fall slowly down, and Nami by running to where a smoother decline was. The kids followed Nami and they all made it to where Luffy was.

"Luffy!" Nami cried when they all reached his body. "What did you do? How did this happen.

"He must have fallen," Pepper observed.

"He's a goner," Carrot added.

"That must've been why our captain was so upset," Onion finished.

Zoro stepped closer to his body and then raised an eyebrow as he caught something with his hearing. He inclined his head downward so he was slightly closer and this time was able to make out the unmistakable rumble that Luffy gives when he snores.

Zoro scoffed, causing Gnocx to look at him questioningly.

"Lazy bum," Zoro muttered as he took one of his swords from his haramaki and used the sheath to prod Luffy on the backside.

Luffy's hand twitched after the prod and Nami and the kids screamed before backing away. Luffy then used his arms to push himself into a sitting position, then yawning to clear the bleariness from his eyes.

"Good morning guys," he greeted as if nothing happened.

* * *

Usopp lost the mob ages ago and had decided to find someone that would believe him. He made his way to the border of Kaya's property and used the same means of entry as always, made his way onto the property and headed to her house. He ran until he stood under her bedroom window. He grabbed a couple rocks from a flowerbed along the house and threw them, one at a time, at her window.

After the second rock, the window opened and Kaya's head appeared. She adopted a smile as she saw Usopp climb the tree he sat in before.

"Oh good," she said. "I thought you'd come back."

She didn't notice the grave look on Usopp's face in her relief, but she did notice it as he leapt from the tree branch onto the windowsill of her room.

"You have to run, Kaya!" he told her. "They're gonna kill you!"

"Huh?" she wondered, face torn between amusement and confusion. "Someone's going to kill me?"

Usopp nodded in confirmation.

"He's tricked the entire town," Usopp said. "Klahadore is really a bloodthirsty pirate captain!"

Kaya's eyes widened at Usopp's words as a small gust of wind entered through her window, tossing her blonde hair about.

"Is….Is this a story?" She asked apprehensively. "Well I don't like this one."

Usopp started at her question but pressed.

"This isn't one of my stories, Kaya," he vehemently denied. "I heard it with my own ears. Klahadore is really a pirate who weaseled his way into your home so he could steal your fortune! He's been working here for three years so he could kill you and get your inheritance!"

"What are you talking about, Usopp?" she asked, shaking her head.

"His crew is gonna invade the village at dawn and you're gonna get killed in the process!"

Kaya looked at her feet as she slowly fisted her dress and pursed her lips to keep them from quivering.

"Klahadore is a bad man; your life is in danger! You have to escape!"

"He did treat you harshly before and I understand that you're hurt," Kaya clipped as she met his gaze once again. "But why lie like this? It's not like you."

Usopp recoiled as if struck. He looked down and started to shake.

"I'm telling you the truth," he told her. "Please believe me!"

* * *

"What!" the kids shouted together. "Pirates are gonna attack the village? They're gonna kill Kaya?"

"Yep," Luffy coolly stated as he pulled his hat back on his head. "That's what they said, no question about it."

"So," Zoro started as he stood next to Luffy, who was still sitting on the rocks. "What made you think it was a good time to take a nap?"

"Oh, that's the thing," Luffy said, looking up at him. "I don't even remember falling asleep."

"Of course not," Gnocx deadpanned as the kids whispered to each other off to the side. "It must have been the hypnotist; you said he was there right?"

"He was a hypnotist?" Luffy asked, amazed. "So cool!"

"You idiot," Nami groaned. "And of course you fall for it."

"The captain must have gone to warn the villagers and Kaya about the pirates," Pepper surmised loud enough for them to hear.

"Well that's good, right?" Nami said.

"Yeah, and if we wanna live we better run for our lives too," Onion replied.

"Run like the wind!" they all cried as they left the older pirates.

The others watched them leave with sweat drops before Luffy jumped.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"We need to stock up on meat before the guy in the meat shop leaves!"

"That's not the issue!" the others told him as Zoro hit him with his sheath again.

* * *

"All those lies you told me," Kaya told Usopp. "I loved them. I loved them all, they brought joy to my heart. But…this is just vengeful poison."

Usopp's expression turned sober.

"Listen, Kaya, this isn't me trying to get even with Klahadore."

"Why would you do that?" She asked, seeming to have not heard him while she grabbed ahold of the curtain. "It's wrong."

"Kaya…" Usopp whispered as the door to her bedroom opened.

Usopp looked up to see a man with white hair done in a strange way that resembled a lamb's head lean his head into the room, pistol in hand.

"Miss. Kaya is everything alright?" the man asked as he looked over to the window.

Immediately, Usopp knelt down, and grabbed Kaya's wrist. She struggled slightly as he pulled her to him.

"Come on, Kaya, let's get out of here," Usopp begged as his arm went around her waist.

"Usopp, stop it," she pleaded.

"Unhand her immediately, you villain!" the butler yelled as he pointed his pistol at them.

Usopp held Kaya tighter and leapt backward out the window. He managed to grab hold of a branch and used it to stabilize himself before dropping to the ground, carrying Kaya bridal style.

"You gotta trust me, Kaya," he whispered as she seemed to get weak from the movement. "We gotta leave before that butler gets back."

He set her on the ground and looked up in time to see three guards come for them. He dashed away from her in order to get her out of their firing range before he pulled out his slingshot. Three lead balls later and the men were all on the ground. He ran back for Kaya and grabbed her wrist.

"Come on," he told her, meaning to drag her with him.

Kaya wouldn't budge.

"Kaya, I promise this will all make sense tomorrow, but we gotta leave, please just trust me—"

The sound of a palm striking flesh echoed in the yard.

Usopp could be nothing but shocked as his head whipped to the side when Kaya smacked him. She turned away as pained tears fell from her eyes. Usopp stepped back in shock as his cheek turned red.

"You're…pathetic," Kaya whispered, tears still streaming.

Usopp stared at her as he felt the metaphorical knife plunge into his chest repeatedly. They didn't notice when the man from before walked out onto the yard and aimed his pistol at Usopp.

"Get away from her!" he cried.

Usopp snapped back into reality and as soon as he saw the weapon, he turned and fled.

The butler followed Usopp with his aiming, but was barely able to change his shot when Kaya jumped in front of him.

"No," she cried as the gun went off.

Usopp lurched as the bullet made contact with his arm. He fell to the ground mostly from shock as blood started to run down the limb. As he stood back up, he could hear the jeers from the mob he evaded earlier come by.

"Don't let him escape!" the butler yelled at the mob on the other side of the fence. "This maniac just broke in and tried to take the lady of the house!"

Usopp began to run again as the mob's volume increased.

_Why won't anyone believe me,_ he asked himself as he ran.

Kaya watched helplessly as Usopp leapt over the border of the yard and was chased into the distance.

* * *

The sun was setting when Usopp finally was able to lose the men again. He walked along a path as he reflected on how he and Kaya first met, right after her Dad had died. He heard a shout down the road and that was able to pull him to the present.

"Captain!" he heard.

He quickly pulled his arm band over his injury from earlier and wiped the tears from his face before turning to look at the kids.

"Hey guys," he greeted, looking but then gaping when he saw Luffy and the others with him.

He ran up to them and pointed at Luffy.

"You-you're alive again?" he asked.

"Huh?" Luffy replied. "Oh, yeah, I guess, I got a good nap from it too."

"He told us all about that evil plan by Klahadore," Carrot told him.

"Yeah, so we better hurry and warn the people in the village so they have time to get away!" Onion added.

Usopp cringed but it went unnoticed by the kids. However, the three looked at him questioningly when he looked down and his shoulders started to shake.

"Captain?" they asked.

Usopp threw his head back and cried out in boisterous laughter. They all looked at him questioningly now as he let himself laugh for about 30 seconds.

"Well obviously I'm lying like usual you guys," he laughed. "That butler just made me so mad with what he said."

Luffy cocked his head to the side and blinked. Behind him Zoro, Nami, and Gnocx blinked with him, not really surprised at what he was doing.

The three kids eventually joined up in the laughter, not knowing the underlying tension in the air.

"Oh, I get it," one of them said.

The kids walked by Usopp as they laughed and didn't look back.

"Where are you guys going?" he asked.

"Honestly," Carrot said, not looking back at him. "You've disappointed me."

"Yeah," Pepper said, turning his head back at him.

"I know that that butler is a jerk and all," Onion added. "But I thought you were better than lying to hurt someone. I admired you for being such a kind hearted person."

"Let's go home you guys," Pepper suggested.

Usopp grit his teeth as his only supporters from the island left him. They could hear them talking as they faded into the distance and toward the village.

* * *

Usopp took the others back to the place that he and Luffy had heard the plan and let Nami treated the bullet scrape on his arm. The sun had set and he was making little yelping noises when Nami would touch it with the medical alcohol. She eventually bandaged it up and stepped back with a grin at her handiwork.

"All done," she said.

"So," Luffy began. "How come you lied to them?"

"Because all I do is lie," he answered. "No one else believed what I was saying so why should they?"

"Because what you were telling them was the honest truth," Zoro told him.

"But that wasn't the only thing was it?" Gnocx asked.

Usopp twitched and looked away.

"You don't want them hurt, so what better way to assure that then to keep them away from the fight."

"Either way, tomorrow I'm gonna wait for those no good pirates and defend my village. This is all my fault anyway for being such a liar. I don't care if they drive me away with brooms or shoot me in the arm. This is my village, my home, and I love everyone in it."

Tears ran anew as Usopp made his resolve.

"I will defend them."

Zoro slightly withdrew a blade and sheathed it as Luffy wound his arm up and Gnocx ran his hand through his hair.

"You're a hell of a guy," Zoro said. "Sending your cronies away and doing the fighting on your own."

"Just so you know," Nami told him. "I call dibs on all the treasure.

"Damn it," Gnocx said. "Everywhere we go is another fight."

"So you want a little help, or not?" Luffy asked in a serious tone.

"You guys," Usopp whispered as he stared in shock. "You're gonna help me fight all these pirates? I don't get it."

"Well," Luffy answered. "You said there's a lot of bad guys right?"

"Plus you look scared out of your mind," Zoro observed.

"Hey!" Usopp yelled, affronted. "I'll have you know I have nerves of steel, I'm perfectly fine!"

"You're legs say otherwise," Gnocx pointed out as Usopp's legs continued to shake.

"Damn it," Usopp muttered as he hit his legs, trying to get them to stop. "Alright, fine, I'm scared. Why shouldn't I be? They're Captain Kuro's men! They mean business! If you guys are just staying out of pity, don't. I don't need it!"

"We aren't pitying you," Zoro said, annoyed. "We're helping because you're honorable."

"Maybe it's just me," Gnocx whispered to Nami. "But given that we are pirates, that phrase seems contradictory in a way."

"I guess when it comes to stereotypical pirates it does," she whispered back. "But you guys are anything but."

"Do you really think we'd risk our lives out of pity?" Luffy asked.

Usopp and he locked glances and more tears started to stream down his face.

"No," he answered genuinely. "Not you guys."

* * *

**Here it is, now to elaborate on the topics in my skit. I recently got another one shot idea and I'm really excited about it. Look for it in the next couple weeks. My goal is to have it be my best one shot yet. Also I am changing somethings on TWOF timeline. Meaning the world I originally planned for Volume 6, Harry Potter again, won't be there and he won't be heading back to that world. I won't tell you what I've replaced it with, but it isn't an anime and I hope you enjoy it when that time comes. Anyway, I'll see you guys next week, which is the day after my last day of classes for the semester! Yahoo!**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	14. Battle On The Slope: Folly

**Me: "Welcome back!" :Confetti falls:**

**PR: "Why the confetti?" :She asks as she pours over a book:**

**Me: "I'm done with school."**

**PR throws her book and it hits me in the head.**

**PR: "Don't rub it in!"**

**Me: :rubs my head: "I'm sorry."**

**PR: "Who's disclaiming?"**

**I snap my fingers and Gnocx walks in.**

**PR: "Gnocx!" :Gets up and hugs him: "Your idiot creator is being mean to me!"**

**Gnocx: :sighs then points at me while patting the back of her head:**

**A zero gravity spell envelopes me and I levitate upside down.**

**Me: "What the hell!"**

**PR: "Ha!"**

**Gnocx: "Shaded Truths owns nothing, and he knows nothing as well."**

**Me: "Traitor!"**

**PR: "I wanna take a break, will you take me to the world of Loveless?"**

**Gnocx: "I suppose."**

**PR: "Yay!"**

**She grabs his hand and runs out of the room.**

**Me: "Hey!" :still hovering: "You forgot about me!"**

**The spell wears off and I fall on my head.**

* * *

Chapter 14

"Okay," Usopp began as he led them up a slope connecting the shore with the inner area of the island. "This is where the pirates are gonna attack at dawn tomorrow. The only way to get to the village from here is up this slope. The rest of the shoreline is sheer cliffs so they'll have to come through here. If we can fight them in this narrow path, their numbers won't mean a thing."

The moon was out and had reached its' peak. After Luffy and the others offered their help, Usopp led them to where he knew the pirates were going to dock. Gone was the scaredy-cat that they had come to know and out had come the tactician.

"Sounds pretty easy," Luffy said.

"In theory," Gnocx added.

"He's right," Usopp said. "Talking about it makes it sound easy, but our victory depends on our strength. What is it you guys can do?"

Zoro gripped his swords and adopted a manic grin.

"I cut."

Luffy matched his grin and grabbed his bicep.

"I stretch."

Gnocx just looked at him evenly, deciding to keep it monosyllabic.

"I dupe."

Usopp made his face stone.

"Well, I hide."

"Well this time you better fight!" Luffy, Zoro, and Nami yelled while Luffy put him in a headlock as Gnocx stood to the side with a sweat drop.

_Insane._

"I'm just making a funny," Usopp chokes out, fighting Luffy's hold to no avail. "Come on, chill out."

* * *

"I leave for a few hours and everything falls apart," Klahadore fumed as he walked into the foyer of the manor. "Unbelievable."

The butler who had chased Usopp off, Merry, was standing on a ladder, cleaning the chandelier, humming to himself.

"That Usopp knows how to cause a stir, doesn't he?" the evil man mused.

"It's a good thing he was chased off," Merry added as he continued to dust. "He even tried to tell us that you were a pirate, I couldn't even fathom such an outrageous lie."

Merry laughed whole heartedly at the implication, behaving just as Kuro had warned.

Said pirate walked over to a window with a gleam in his eye and chuckled.

"Indeed," he agreed before frowning at a pedestal next to him.

He reached over and picked up a small, blue, rectangular package that was adorned with a bow.

"What is this?" he asked Merry.

"Why it's a present from Miss Kaya to you, Klahadore, in honor of your third year of employment. It's a thank you gift for all your hard work."

As he continued to ramble, he did not notice that despite Klahadore's expressionless face, the veins in his forehead seemed to pump quicker and expand.

"A commemoration of sorts," Merry finally finished.

"How nice," Klahadore droned.

"The glasses you're wearing always seem to slip, so the lady of the house custom ordered a pair especially for you. Isn't she just the most thoughtful young woman you ever met?"

Klahadore smirked as he tore the bow from the box and opened it to reveal the glasses.

"How…Appropriate," he oiled. "Tomorrow will indeed be a day worth commemorating."

Merry remained ignorant of the true meaning of his statement as he continued to whistle cheerily.

As he climbed down, Klahadore smirked wider and dropped the case, glasses and all, and crushed it with his shoe.

"What are you doing?" Merry yelled. "Why would you do that to a gift from Miss Kaya?"

"Oh, I'll be getting a gift alright," Klahadore insisted. "But it won't be glasses, It'll be the entire estate."

"What are you saying?" Merry trembled.

"I suppose there is no use in hiding it any longer," Klahadore conceded as put his hand in his pocket then slowly withdrew it.

Merry gasped as Kuro's newly gloved hand was exposed, on the fingers were a long blade, making his hand look suitably like it had a cat's claws.

"Tomorrow the mistress of the house shall be dead and I shall be the new owner of the estate.

Merry let out a scream as he tried to run.

"Miss Kaya, you must leave this place!" he tried to shout as Klahadore swiped his blades over Merry's chest.

Above them the lights on the chandelier shattered, leaving the room in darkness with the exception of the moonlight. Merry's body fell to the floor and lay still, as the blood pooled around his body, Klahadore simply sneered down at him.

* * *

In her room, Kaya lie asleep, blissfully unaware of the heinous act just committed in her own home by her most trusted employer. Were she awake, she would of heard the 'click clack' of Klahadore's footsteps along the staircase, growing closer to her location.

With a squeak, the door opened and Klahadore stepped in. He shut the door behind him and strode to her bedside. The blades he just used on Merry stained with his blood as they came with him. He stared coldly down at her, the moon creating a glare on his glasses, obscuring anyone's view of them. Slowly, he pulled his 'clawed' hand up and let the blades hover over Kaya's head. He was silent, silent as a mouse, fitting of his reputation. He continued to hold those blades in place as he turned his head to stare out her window. He relinquished his position after what seemed to be hours. Then, the same as he came, he left.

* * *

"I'm a genius," Usopp praised himself as he and the others watched three barrels worth of oil slowly cover the slope, creating a challenge for the invading pirates. "While those pirates are busy with the oil, we can make quick work of them. They'll be too busy slipping and sliding like idiots, then we'll show up and beat the crap out of them."

"So that's your plan huh?" Nami said as she stepped closer. "Let's hope none of us fall into that trap, it would be like sliding down a meat grinder."

"It's simple, but it should be effective," Gnocx appraised. "The question is how long can it work."

"I gotta hand it to you, Usopp," Luffy said as he sat down and let his foot slide in the oil. "You're pretty good at fighting dirty."

The others looked amused as Usopp took on an affronted expression.

"Of course I am," he said, changing his tune. "There isn't anyone out there that can beat me at the slingshot, or fighting dirty."

"I don't think that's much to be proud of," Gnocx said as Zoro and Nami rolled their eyes.

Luffy smirked at him before they all turned to the horizon.

"It's almost daybreak," Gnocx said as he touched his sling.

"They're coming," Zoro added.

* * *

On the ocean, a large pirate ship began to run ashore. On the flag was a skull in the shape of a cat's head. It only stopped when it hit the shore.

"Alright men, you know the plan!" Jango, the hypnotist exclaimed. "Raid the village and make your way to the mansion!"

"Aye!" they chorused.

"Captain Jango!" one of the men called. "There are two small boats on the shore, should we check it out?"

Jango looked to his left and saw the ships that belonged to Luffy, Zoro, Gnocx and Nami.

"They are too small to be treasure ships," he analyzed. "Just leave them and let's go."

They all roared in delight and affirmation as men started to jump off the ship… Onto an empty beach… And an empty slope.

* * *

"Where are they?" Luffy whined as he stayed crouched. "We were gonna fight, the sun's up, what's the deal?"

"Maybe they overslept?" Zoro suggested.

"They're not you, Zoro," Gnocx contradicted causing Zoro to look at him with a bored expression.

Nami's brow wrinkled as she thought before she gasped and cupped her hands around her ears, increasing the surface area that sound waves can use to vibrate into her inner ear.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Maybe I'm hearing things, but it sounds like…battle cries from somewhere."

Gnocx's brow furrowed in thought as the other three looked back out to the ocean.

"Guys…" Gnocx said slowly. "Wasn't the place we came ashore oddly similar to this place?"

"No way," Usopp whispered.

"What?" Zoro asked.

"There _is _another shore like this one!" Usopp yelled. "It's to the north of here!"

"We're at the wrong one?" Luffy asked, startled. "That's not good!"

"Well, this is where that secret meeting was, so I assumed that they would attack here!" Usopp reasoned.

"Damnit," Zoro and Gnocx cursed at the same time.

"We need to hurry before they reach the village, where is it?" Luffy asked.

"You have to go directly north, if you run you can make it in three minutes, the terrain is exactly like this so you can't miss it."

"Oh no!" Nami screeched, grabbing her head.

"What?" the men all asked simultaneously.

"If they're at the north shore then they've already seen our boats! They'll take my treasure!"

"I'll be there in 20 seconds!" Luffy declared before he ran.

"Oh man," Usopp shouted. "My oil strategy was all for nothing!"

He took off right after Luffy.

The other three began to run as well, but Nami somehow managed to stick one of her feet in the oil slick and she started to fall back. She yelped in surprise and reached out and grabbed the closest object, one of the sheaths to Zoro's swords.

Zoro didn't expect it and lost his balance, however, he also reached out and managed to hook a fist into the back of Gnocx's shirt.

"What the—" Gnocx said before he grunted as he, Zoro, and Nami landed back into the oil slick.

"Help me, I'm gonna fall!" Nami cried as she held onto Zoro's foot.

"Let go you moron!" Zoro yelled as he let go of Gnocx's shirt to try to grip some of the slicked earth beneath him.

"Shit," Gnocx muttered as he slowly slid down past them, only able to use one hand to claw into the dirt.

"Sorry, Zoro," Nami said before she jumped and used his back as a stepping stone before landing on the non-slick ground.

"Damn you!" Zoro yelled as his body barreled into Gnocx's and they both were sent sliding down to the bottom of the slope.

"Sorry, but oil won't be a problem for you guys, right?" Nami asked. "You understand, the treasure is in danger!"

Zoro got up on his elbows as Nami started to run.

"That girl's gonna pay!" Zoro yelled before his legs were pushed off of Gnocx.

"Revenge later, getting out of here now," Gnocx said with a scowl as he tried to stand, but with his oil slicked body, he fell back down.

* * *

"I swear they won't get anywhere near my village," Usopp promised as he ran through a clearing. "Man that Luffy's a good runner, I can't even see him anymore."

* * *

"Run straight north," Luffy chanted as he continued to sprint. "Run straight north, run straight north."

* * *

Nami breathed heavily in exertion as she got farther away from the oil slicked slope.

"Those mongrels are in trouble if they so much as look at my treasure!"

* * *

On the correct slope, the group of pirates had all disembarked and were making their way up the slope. Each of them carrying a weapon such as a sword, ax, or spear. They were surprised as the group was pelted with a bunch of lead balls and several of them flew back and onto the ground.

"It's an ambush!" one of them warned.

Jango was at the rear of the group and looked up to the top of the slope as one of his men had fallen at his feet.

"Well," he smirked. "We meet again."

At the top of the heel, Usopp stood, panting in exertion.

"I am the Legendary Captain Usopp!" he declared. "I have been waiting for you!"

Jango glared as Usopp raised a shaky fist.

"All my men and I are ready to fight, so you better turn back now!" Usopp warned.

The pirates grinned evilly at him as they saw that his legs began to shake.

_I wasn't supposed to be the first one here,_ he thought, scared out of his mind. _Luffy was way ahead of me. I can't take all of these guys alone._

* * *

"Uh, Zoro," Gnocx said with a sweat drop as the green haired man tried once again to run up.

"How am I supposed to get past this stuff!" Zoro yelled as he ran faster, only to fall more quickly down the hill

"This can't be right," Luffy stated as he looked onward to the village. "He said that I needed to run north and I ran in the coldest direction so I should be there."

* * *

Usopp gulped as he remained alone to stand up to the pirates.

"You're one of those brats that overheard our plan," Jango observed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm warning you again!" Usopp ignored. "Leave while you still can! If you don't, then my 100 million crew men will massacre you're ranks without mercy!"

The collective group of pirates all stopped their growling at him and looked with a variety of sweat drops and raised eyebrows.

"100 million men?"

"Are we supposed to believe that?"

"No way!" Jango gaped, astonished. "100 million? Incredible!"

"Captain, he's obviously lying!" the crew yelled at him.

_They saw through it, oh crap!_ Usopp panicked.

"How dare you lie to us!" Jango seethed as if his child had been murdered.

"Captain, look at this," a crewman called.

"Oh no, is it bad?" Jango worried, displaying his bipolar tendencies once again.

"No it's good sir."

Jango gleamed as he saw that some of his men had gotten onto the other boats on shore and carried out Nami's treasure.

"I have no idea how much it is sir, but I'd guess about five million berries!"

"What?" Jango gaped.

"Five million?" Usopp asked himself. "How did those guys get that much?"

He suddenly got an idea.

"I see you've found my loot," Usopp boasted.

"Hm?" Jango grunted.

"Well you can have it!" Usopp told him. "Just turn around and forget about this place, and the treasure is yours."

Jango lowered his hat as his crewman grew more shocked at his stupidity.

"Okay, do you know what a pirate is?" Jango asked. "We're gonna take your treasure and there's nothing you can do about it."

He then looked up at Usopp directly.

"And there is no way we'll be turning back until we get what we came for."

Usopp shook harder as Jango pulled his ring from his coat.

"Now on the count of 'Jango' you're going to let us by… One…Two…Jan—"

"There's no way you're going to give my hard earned treasure away!"

The pirates gaped as Nami used her bo staff to ram Usopp in the head, sending him sprawling.

"Who's that?" one of the men asked.

"Captain, this is no time to be hypnotizing yourself!" another yelled as Jango had stepped aside and made a 'go ahead' gesture.

"That treasure boat is mine and I won't let you have a single berri you hear me!" Nami screeched. "You better clear out because I'm coming down to get it back!"

"That hurt!" Usopp complained, turning to face her.

"Who said you could give them my treasure?" she screamed at him. "You got what you deserve!"

"I didn't give it to them. I said I would give it to them."

"Same thing!"

She then set the staff on her shoulders.

"And I just saved your life. We should have warned you before, but don't watch his ring routine. That weirdo's a hypnotist."

"Hypnotist?" Usopp mumbled.

"Where's Luffy?" She asked, noticing his absence. "He's a fast runner, I thought he'd be way ahead of you."

"Beats me," Usopp replied as he stood. "Either he got lost or chickened out."

"That idiot," Nami groaned. "Only getting lost would keep him from a fight. And right when we need him too."

"Okay, so uh…" Usopp started as he backed up toward her. "I'm just gonna take command here. I think it's about time you go kick their butts."

"What!" Nami shouted. "Me? What about you? I can't take on a boatload of vicious pirates by myself! That's just suicide!"

"What? Me fighting?" Usopp asked with a cocky smirk. "Maybe you don't know but beneath this hard exterior is the abject terror of a coward."

"You think you're scared?" Nami asked. "Well I am so scared I'm literally about to cry!"

"Oh, please," Usopp argued. "You're eyes are completely dry, you'll have to do better than that. Liars can smell their own."

The Black Cats stood, transfixed by the silly argument playing out before them.

"We don't have time for this," Jango deadpanned. "Men, crush them and move to the village."

Nami and Usopp had gotten into each other's faces as they argued, the noticed the battle cries and immediately ceased.

"Here they come," Nami said.

"Wait," Usopp exclaimed, reaching for his bag. "I have some caltrops!"

"Just what the doctor ordered, let me have some."

Nami and Usopp, each with a handful of the spikes, reached back and threw them forward.

* * *

"Are you done?" Gnocx asked as Zoro slid down for probably the fiftieth time.

"If Nami's still alive when we get out of here, I'm gonna kill her," Zoro panted.

Gnocx stepped forward and surveyed the area. The oil slick didn't cover the entire length of the slope, just about a third. So, with that in mind, he pulled off his sling and let it flutter to the ground.

Zoro watched as he rotated his shoulder a few times to check it.

"My arm hasn't hurt since we landed here," Gnocx explained. "Maybe my body heals fast or something, but I think it's time to get back in the game."

Gnocx stepped back a few feet and then dashed toward Zoro and the slope.

"Give me a boost!" he shouted before jumping.

"What?" Zoro asked before Gnocx landed on his shoulders.

Zoro kept himself balanced as Gnocx used the extra height he got from jumping off his shoulders to propel himself over the slick.

"You're not gonna jump over it, idiot!" Zoro shouted as Gnocx began to fall.

Gnocx held his hand toward the ground as he came close to landing in the middle of the slick.

"Wind!" he shouted, and a short gust of air sent him careening upward and toward the other side.

Zoro gaped as Gnocx hit the ground, hard, and then rolled back to his feet.

"That was cheap!" he shouted at him.

Gnocx just rolled his eyes as he stood back up.

He then growled in frustration before pulling out two of his swords then running at it again. As soon as Zoro got into the oil, he stabbed one sword into the ground, then another a few inches up before pulling the first one out and stabbing it above the second, he continued this pattern until he eventually powered his way out of the slick and ran by the blinking Gnocx.

"Take that oil!" Zoro yelled as he ran away from it.

Gnocx looked amused before taking off as well.

* * *

"Run straight north, run straight north," Luffy continued as he ran again.

His chants were cut off as he ran head first into the side of a cliff.

"But which way is north?" He asked himself.

* * *

Several of the pirates screamed in pain as their feet were turned into pin cushions, thanks to the caltrops.

"We got 'em!" Nami cheered.

"Yeah," Usopp shouted. "Now here comes, the Lead Star!"

He fired his slingshot and the lead ball he launched hit one of the pirates, sending him down the slope.

"Bastard!" another pirate yelled.

"Look at you," Nami praised with a clap on the back. "Now keep it up, I'm gonna take a break."

"You haven't done anything!" Usopp screamed at her as she turned to walk away.

"Uh," Nami uttered. "There are caltrops behind us too."

"You idiot!" Usopp yelled as he saw she was speaking the truth. "You dropped them behind us too?"

Usopp turned his back to the horde to look and unfortunately one of them did take advantage.

"Get out of the way!" the pirate yelled before smashing Usopp in the side of the head with a sledgehammer.

Blood sprayed from Usopp's mouth as he fell to the side.

"Did you honestly think you could stop us down there?" the man asked. "Come on, guys, let's get to the village, Captain Kuro is waiting."

"Usopp!" Nami yelled as he reached out and grabbed the man's ankle.

"Let go you jackass," the pirate complained before stepping on his head.

"I won't let you… near that village!"

The man growled as Usopp stood back up.

"All I did was lie like I always do," Usopp told them. "See, today will be like any other day in that village because you and your cronies won't set foot in it."

Another one of the pirates brought his sword up, ready to cleave off Usopp's head, before Nami ran toward him and faster than he could blink, knocked him on his ass with a well-executed strike with her staff.

"Stupid girl!" a third shouted before slashing at her.

She brought up the staff to block but the man was larger and stronger so with a push, the staff fell from her grasp and she went down.

"We've wasted enough time!" Jango yelled. "Leave them be and move on to the village! Or have you forgotten that this is Captain Kuro's operation? You know that he doesn't like it when we're late. He'll kill us all! You understand that, you cretins?"

"He's right," one of the grunts said.

With a yell, they ran past and headed toward the village.

"No," Usopp said, grabbing one of their legs. "Stop."

"Get off of me!" the man he grabbed yelled before kicking him away.

_Please,_ Usopp begged in his thoughts. _Don't kill them, don't go to the village, they're good people. They don't deserve this… I love this place._

Usopp bent his head up to watch them run off, but his eyes widened when instead he saw the lot of them fly back with surprised shouts.

"What the," one of them yelled.

"Captain Jango never told us killers like them weren't gonna be here!"

"About time!" Nami yelled at the new arrivals.

"Lucky we found Luffy on our way," Gnocx said, one sword at his side, seemingly amused at Luffy's exerted appearance, especially after the three sent all those men flying. "And Zoro didn't even get lost once."

"Shut up!" Zoro yelled before glaring at Nami, who had the decency to look sheepish, then looked down the hill.

"Is that the best you've got?" asked, looking to misplace some aggression.

"Yeah, I was looking for a challenge," Luffy added.

"And you!" Zoro yelled, rounding on Nami again. "After leaving me down there, you're lucky I'm not kicking your ass too!"

"Usopp you jerk!" Luffy screamed. "You didn't tell me which way north was!"

Klahadore sat on the front steps of Kaya's mansion, face shrouded as the minutes ticked by.

_They're late… _He observed. _They know I don't like when my plans are upset… They may have forgotten the punishment for holding me up…If so…_

Kuro then stood up and grabbed a small bag next to him, before setting off toward the shore.

As he walked he held up his hand and adjusted his glasses with his palm.

"I'll kill them all."

* * *

**Aye, I can't wait to leave this arc. I'm sorry for the crappiness of this chapter. I will be better because I have no school until September. I will not be having Gnocx in the second half of the Baratie arc, there is really no use for him there. So he shall leave with the rest of them for Cocoyashi village (sorry if I misspelled that). He will have more airtime in that arc. Until next week.**

**~Shaded Truth~**


	15. Battle On The Slope: Myanban Brothers

**Me: "Hel-"**

**PR: "No more classes!" :flops back into her chair:**

**Me: "Yes... we are both done with classes until the fall."**

**PR: "Summer... I can read, write, work on my anime list, write, watch One Piece, write, hang out, write."**

**Me: :deadpans: "You said 'write' four times."**

**PR: :gives me a bored look: "I'm aware, now get to the disclaimer, you're bumming my joy."**

**Me: :sighs: "Well, today the disclaimer shall be done by-"**

**PR: "You need to come visit too."**

**Me: "...I know...and I want to...it just isn't feasible right now."**

**PR: "You need to make it up to me...let me pick who disclaims today."**

**Me: :blinks: "Okay, BUT! It needs to either be Gnocx, or someone from One Piece."**

**PR: "Well, you've told me about these characters and there is one I really wanna meet."**

**She snaps her finger and someone walks in.**

**Me: :gapes: "She hasn't been in the series yet!"**

**PR: "So? You're the author."**

**Nico Robin: :Chuckles: "Indeed, Mr. Author."**

**Me: "Fine, just this once. But you only want to meet her because she is an archaeologist and you're studying to be one."**

**Robin: "That's fine. I always enjoy conversing with someone who wants to learn about aspects of the worlds history."**

**PR: "Say it, Robin."**

**Robin: " Mr. Shaded Truths owns nothing except for Mr. Gnocx, who I will eventually start calling Mr. S-"**

**Me: "No spoilers!"**

**Robin chuckles and nods.**

**Me: "I'll let you two talk, I need to go find some guys to bro-down with."**

**I leave while PR cracks up.**

* * *

Chapter 15

"It's about time!" Nami yelled at the three arrivals.

"Wow," Usopp marveled, looking down at the pile of men at the bottom of the slope. "You guys are that strong?"

He noticed then that Gnocx didn't have his sling anymore.

"You aren't crippled either."

"Idiot," Gnocx muttered as Luffy nodded at him. "I was never crippled."

"It's your damn fault it took so long!" Zoro shouted back at her. "if you hadn't pushed us down that oil slick we'd have been here!"

"As I recall, she pushed you," Gnocx deadpanned. "You pulled me into it."

"Whatever, it's still her fault."

"That's not how it happened," Nami said innocently. "I slipped and you fell, Zoro, Gnocx was just a victim of your stupidity. It's better that one of us made it out instead of all three of us been trapped."

"It should have just been you!" Zoro screamed.

"Run straight north, he says," Luffy ranted, ignoring the other three completely. "That's just great, and how the hell am I supposed to know which way north is?"

"Shut up," Usopp groaned. "You're the one who was so sure of himself and took off, ready to take anything."

Luffy's face fell from seething to a frown.

"Well I just got so excited I started running, you know."

"The sun is very high in the sky now," Jango said, knocking the five out of their debates. "And that means…that Captain Kuro grows impatient."

The hypnotist shivered as he looked once again at all his men that were laid out on the ground, thanks to Zoro, Luffy, and Gnocx.

"Come on men," he rallied. "You can't be done already, these guys are just a bunch of idiots."

The words seemed to inspire, because, one by one, the pirates managed to get up, groaning and hurt, but they still stood.

"The fact of the matter is," Jango began as he rifled through his jacket. "We're running out of time."

He pulled his hand out and the fruit of that endeavor turned out to be one of his rings.

"If our enemy is strong, then we must make ourselves stronger, so gather around, you cretins and stare deeply into the ring."

He let the ring dangle and begin its pendulum motion.

"Now, I will count, one, two, Jango, and then you will begin to grow stronger. Your wounds will heal and you will grow stronger still."

Back up on the top, the five just watched what was happening.

"What's he doing?" Luffy wondered. "It looks weird."

"Looks like hypnosis," Nami observed. "He said he would use it to make them stronger, like that'll work."

"Huh," Luffy said as he stared down at the hypnotist.

"Stronger, stronger," Jango repeated with an increasing volume as his men circled him. "One, Two, Jango!"

The trees shook with the roars that followed.

"No way!" Nami exclaimed, wide eyed at the transformation.

The previously battered and weary men were suddenly standing up straight and flexing their limbs. Swords were raised and battle cries renewed as the men grew jovial and all the more bloodthirsty. One of the men ran his fist into the cliff, not only making an impact, but the force of which sent cracks to the top before the entire thing collapsed.

"One guy…" Gnocx began, wide eyed.

"Destroyed that whole cliff!" Zoro finished.

"I always thought that hypnotizing people was a load," Nami said.

"If that was one of them," Usopp added. "Imagine what they could all do together."

Luffy remained silent throughout the display.

"Now go!" Jango exclaimed. "Get going and crush anyone who would dare stand in our way!"

As ordered, the men immediately started to race up the hill, weapons aimed and lusts for blood evident.

"You two get going!" Zoro said to Usopp and Nami, who looked at him confused. "Luffy, Gnocx, the three of us will finish this."

"Right," Gnocx agreed, summoning his other sword and getting into a stance.

It took Usopp a moment to stop gaping at Gnocx's weapons before he scrambled out of the way, taking Nami with him.

"Ok, what now?" Zoro asked, side eyeing Luffy who was between him and Gnocx.

When Luffy said nothing, Gnocx and Zoro both looked at him and their eyebrows rose when they saw his teeth mashed together and he seemed to be…growling.

"Luffy?" Gnocx called.

At the call, Luffy through his hands in the air and bellowed, but not before the other two caught the glazed over look in his eyes.

"What the hell?" Gnocx nearly shouted, eye twitching.

"You let him hypnotize you too!" Zoro screamed.

"Grraaaa!" Luffy cried as he ran at the crowd.

"He really is a simple minded idiot!" Nami complained as she put Usopp's arm around her shoulders.

"Gum Gum," the crazed captain shouted, pulling his fists to his sides. "Gatling!"

The hypnotized enemies looked bewildered at the charge before they all received a very painful fist to some area of their bodies, sending them crashing back down to Jango's feet. The hypnotist gulped as he took in the charging man.

"Damn it, Captain Kuro," he cursed to himself. _You made one hell of a miscalculation. These aren't just some random village idiots._

What few men were able to stand, just stared apprehensively at Luffy, who was crouched and hiding his gaze. A moment later, he looked up and ran at them again, so they did what any sensible person under hypnosis would…they ran.

Luffy seemed to ignore them however, as he just charged through the crowd, quickly overtaking them and running toward Jango. The hypnotist, cringed and covered his head, preparing for the beating to come, when Luffy just ran by him, screaming like a madman.

"Huh?" he muttered.

"What's he doing!" Zoro, who with Gnocx, was watching the whole thing.

"No clue," Gnocx replied as Luffy reached the Black Cat's ship.

Luffy latched onto the front of the ship, specifically that piece of wood that connects to the figure head, and started to pull. His screams grew louder as he used more of his strength. In a matter of seconds, they heard the snapping of wood, indicating that the beam was indeed separating from its' place on the ship.

"Yeah!" Nami cheered. "Tear it down!"

Gnocx and Zoro just exchanged a bewildered look.

Incredibly, the figurehead and the whole piece of wood snapped from the ship. Luffy stumbled momentarily before looking over his shoulder to glare at the pirates before he started to walk, with the giant makeshift wooden club in his hands.

"He's gonna hit us with it!" one of the pirates shouted.

"We gotta run!"

"Captain, do something!"

Jango finally picked his jaw off the ground and thought.

"I should do something," he panicked, reaching into his coat.

He quickly pulled out his ring and held it before the approaching Luffy.

"On Jango, you'll fall asleep!" he shouted in a hurry. "One."

Luffy was less than 50 feet from him and approaching fast.

"Two!"

He quickly lowered his hat over his eyes.

"Jango!"

Immediately, Luffy paused, then his eyes shut and he started to snore. He and the figurehead began to tip, unfortunately for Jango and his crew it was tipping in their direction. The men screamed as it approached and Jango leapt to the side in order to avoid it. Luffy fell to the ground, in a deep sleep, and part of the wood landed on him. Jango was able to avoid the rest, but his men were all knocked this way and that when the figure head impacted.

Once the dust settled nothing could be heard but groans from the men and snoring from Luffy under the column.

* * *

On a path leading to Kaya's manor, Onion had called Carrot and Pepper for a meeting their when he saw Klahadore leave the mansion and head to the shore, with the black bag in hand.

"You mean you saw him leave?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, and he had this real scary look on his face," Onion replied as Carrot snoozed away against the fence.

"What about Kaya? Is she okay?"

"I don't know, but we'll find out, the Usopp Pirates are off!"

"Carrot would you wake up," Pepper ordered.

"Come on guys," Carrot moaned when he finally stirred. "It's too early for this."

"Get up! Bad things could be happening!"

Carrot stared at them before they all ran.

As they ran they conversed about the day before.

"I still think that pirates are gonna attack," Onion said. "I know the captain said it was a lie, but I think 'that' was the actual lie."

"I think you're right," Pepper agreed.

"The captain did seem off yesterday," Carrot mused.

They ran until they reached Kaya's front gate. They then ran around the border to look into her window, but they saw that no one was there.

"Where is she?" Onion asked as they reached the shrubbery that Usopp would use to get onto the property.

* * *

Kaya screamed as she shot up in her bed. Her face was sweating and she was shaking. She had just had the worst nightmare, one in which Usopp tried to kill her for insulting the blood of a pirate in his veins.

She pulled the blanket off of herself and slipped her feet into the slippers at the side of her bed. She then stood, but not before coughing a few times. She then walked over to the closet and pulled on a brown coat, if for anything, then to keep her warm. Kaya then walked out of her room and then down to the door leading into the foyer.

"Klahadore," she called as she knocked. "Klahadore, are you in there?"

She slowly opened the door, not expecting to see a bloody Merry on the ground.

"Merry!" she gasped before running to his side. "Merry! What happened! What's going on? Please, Merry, don't die!"

Merry, who had managed to regain consciousness despite his wound, slowly turned his head to look at her.

"Oh, thank goodness," he rasped, face growing paler. "You're still alive. I was worried."

Merry managed to garner enough upper body strength to flip himself onto his back.

"You have to tell me who did this to you!" Kaya exclaimed.

"He was right," Merry whispered, tears starting to form.

"What?"

"That boy, Usopp, he was right," Merry told her, tears streaming now. "Klahadore did this…he's a…pirate."

Kaya gasped and covered her mouth.

"How…how can it be true?" she whispered.

"He…got close to you…just so he could…steal your fortune." Merry explained through shallow breaths. "That's all he ever wanted."

"It…it can't be!" Kaya denied. "You're lying!"

"It's the truth, Miss Kaya!" Merry cried, eyes shutting as he sobbed.

Kaya's eyes widened as it all finally clicked into place.

"What Usopp spoke yesterday…was the truth," she realized.

"That's right," Merry replied. "And that's what makes it more tragic. He learned the truth and tried his hardest to warn us but…no one would listen to the town liar. We were so confident in this closed off world we've lived in for so long to listen."

Kaya sat shocked as her own tears began to fall.

Merry hacked and drops of blood splattered onto the already bloody floor.

"Someone help us!" Kaya called, hoping to reach a staff member. "Merry needs help!"

"No miss," Merry groaned as he managed to lift himself and sit next to a wall. "None of the staff are here; they've all been on leave since yesterday."

Kaya shivered as it dawned on her that no one would be coming to help.

"You must remain calm," Merry told her, snapping her out of it. "It's almost noon and the attack hasn't happened yet. So, just keep calm, and we can think this through. Because if Klahadore is the thief we believe him to be and all he wants is your fortune then by all means let him have it. It isn't worth you losing your life over."

Kaya sniffed once before wiping her eyes and settling her face into a determined look.

"You are the only one who can stop him now," Merry said. "Can you do it? I know this isn't supposed to be your burden but this is the cold, hard truth. Can you end this?"

"I can," Kaya replied after a moment. "And I will. This isn't something that I can run from…I will find Klahadore…and finish this."

* * *

Outside back at the front gates, the three kids were trying to find a way to climb over it and onto the property.

"Hold on tighter, idiot!" Pepper shouted as Onion slid down the metal bars for the umpteenth time.

"But the bars are slippery and my hands are sweaty!" Onion cried.

"Who cares, we gotta get over," Carrot said.

They were jarred from their argument when the front door opened, they quickly ducked down in an attempt to hide themselves. They door opened slightly and the boys were shocked to see Kaya, in her regular white dress and brown coat, walk out of the manor.

"It's her," they whispered.

They ran down the fence and hid behind a segmented pillar as she slowly made her way to the gate.

"Somethings, going on," Carrot said.

"Yeah, it's weird for her to be out like this," Pepper agreed as she started down the path leading into the village.

* * *

"I can't believe this," Gnocx deadpanned as he and Zoro looked down on the field littered with unconscious men.

"I'm not surprised anymore," Zoro replied.

"Think he's dead?" Gnocx asked, referring to Luffy, who was snoring away, not that they could hear him from all the way up on top of the slope.

Zoro and he exchanged a glance and then looked back down at them.

"No way," they both answered simultaneously.

Nami had managed to drag Usopp up the incline and they were both standing along the edge of the cliff, looking down at them all.

"I guess they're down for the count, huh?" Nami observed.

"I guess," Zoro answered.

"But Luffy's still trapped under that cat," Usopp said, referring to the figurehead.

"He's fine," Gnocx, Zoro, and Nami answered together.

"Worry about your own injuries," Zoro advised with a grin. "It looks like you need to."

Down below, Jango wobbled to his feet.

"Damn that brat," he cursed. "Now our plan is shot all to hell. If Captain Kuro sees this, he'll kill us."

"What the hell is this?" A voice boomed from the ship.

Jango jumped at the voice and whirled to face the ship.

"Yeah, look, Buchi, something's going on down there."

_I forgot, _Jango thought as he smirked. _We still have our trump card._

"Come forth!" Jango called. "Myaban Brothers!"

On command, two blurs leapt from the ship and landed right beside the hypnotist captain. One of them was quite large, wearing no shirt, black and orange stripped pants, and what appeared to be a cape on his back. On the upper half of the left side of his face appeared to be black face paint, putting it with the sharp teeth in his mouth and the fake cat ears on his head, made him fit the appearance of a feline. The other was a smaller man, wearing black, but had green hair, and a pink bow tie on his collar. On his hands you could see gloves that appeared to have claws attached to the fingertips.

"Did you call us Captain?" the green haired one asked.

"Yeah, did ya?" the other repeated.

"Sham," the first said while making a pose.

"Buchi," the bigger one added while also doing a pose.

"Together we are, The Myaban Brothers!" they finished with another pose.

Nami gaped at them while Gnocx put on a bored look and Zoro 'hmmed' in question.

"Sham, Buchi, we need to get up this hill but as you can see our path is clearly blocked," Jango explained pointing up at the four. "Now would you be so kind as to remove those two from our path?"

The brothers looked up to see Zoro glaring down at them and Gnocx spinning his swords once.

"What? No way!" Sham exclaimed as he and Buchi backed off. "They look too strong!"

"Huh?" Gnocx and Zoro both uttered.

"Besides," Buchi added. "We just guard the ship, we're not the guys you want to send into battle."

"Sham, just go," Jango sighed.

Sham shrieked and hid behind Buchi.

"What, why me?"

"This guy's crying like a baby," Nami said

Sham then heeded the order and started to awkwardly run at them, screaming things like 'I'm gonna get you,' and 'my claws will sing as they tear into your flesh.'

"Come any closer and I'll cut you in half!" Zoro yelled, having only one sword withdrawn. "I mean it."

Zoro stepped forward and held his sword in front of himself as Sham continued his pathetic display. The cat suddenly became more solid in his form and flashed forward, striking at Zoro's sword with his clawed hand.

"Not likely," he said as Gnocx appeared beside them and slashed upward at Sham.

The brother leapt back, avoiding the blow and landing easily on his feet.

"Don't think that just because you have a modicum of skill means you can underestimate the Myaban Brothers," Sham sneered at them both.

Zoro gasped when he saw that his two other swords were strapped onto Sham's back.

"Give me back my swords," he seethed.

"But you already have one," Sham mocked, pulling them off and holding them in front of him. "How greedy can you get?"

He then took the swords and threw them behind him, letting them land on the ground several feet away.

Faster than Gnocx could blink, Zoro disappeared and slashed at Sham, who cried and dodged to the side as Zoro ran past. Gnocx took off after them but was too late to stop Sham as he appeared above Zoro before planting a foot on his back and holding each of his arms apart, causing the swordsmen to fall to the ground.

"You're up, Buchi!" Sham called as he held Zoro down.

Buchi then leapt into the air, higher than the cliff, which was even more surprising given his size, before aiming his foot at Zoro's grounded head.

Before he could see the impact, Sham gasped as he was impacted in the back, sending him flipping forward and allowing Zoro to scramble backwards as Buchi impacted. His foot caused a massive hole to form in the ground and cracks to spread from it in a network.

"Damn it!" Sham said as he recovered.

"Hold on tighter next time, Sham!" Buchi chided.

"Be quiet!" Sham replied. "We forgot the other one and the green one is stronger than we thought, even without all his blades."

Sham looked at his sliced jacket when he said this.

_This is bad,_ Zoro thought. _If tubby would have landed, I would be dust._

"Thanks," Zoro said to Gnocx, who had made it in time to kick Sham off.

Gnocx nodded in reply before staring at them.

"We can get them both this time," Sham said as he and Buchi got into stances.

"One sword techniques aren't my forte but what the hell," Zoro muttered as he made his own stance.

"Let's go!" Buchi cried.

Zoro and Gnocx were both shocked as the brothers appeared in front of them both, and they were barely able to guard in time. Sham had taken Gnocx while Buchi got Zoro and were pushing both swordsmen back with their constant attacks.

"This is bad!" Nami said from the hill. "They're both on the defensive."

She looked over to see Usopp loading his slingshot.

"There's no way they can get the upper hand like this," Usopp explained before firing. "Special Attack: Lead Star!"

Zoro managed to look over as the attack was called, but instead of letting it go, he stepped to the side and in front of the projectile. Gnocx's guard slipped as he watched the impact.

"This is our chance!" Sham exclaimed as he and Buchi both attacked.

Blood sprayed as Buchi used both sets of his claws to rake an 'x' pattern across Zoro's chest. Sham got Gnocx as well, raking a couple across his cheek and a whole hand down the center of his chest.

They both stumbled back as Nami started to yell at Usopp.

"The point is to hit the bad guys!" Nami scolded.

"But…I did," Usopp replied, knowing that Zoro took the hit, but not knowing why.

"Stupid," Zoro shouted at him. "Don't help us! You wanna die?"

Usopp's eyes widened as he finally got it.

"I think that," Nami said, getting it as well. "We just got saved… If you had hit one of them, they would have come after us."

She looked down the hill as the attacks started again, spotting Zoro's swords as he and Gnocx continued to block.

Gnocx was blocking the attacks fairly easily, but the fact remained that he had a one sword advantage over Zoro, who kept eyeing his other weapons.

_If I could only get one more,_ he mused as his concentration sharpened and blocking became slightly less problematic.

"You aren't so great at this," Sham mocked as he kept trying to break Gnocx's guard. "I suppose it's a relief that you're not as strong as the other one."

Gnocx showed no reaction to the jab.

"I might not be as strong as he is," Gnocx admitted without a problem. "But I don't need to be."

Sham made a confused noise as Gnocx let one of his attacks go unblocked. The cat's eyes then widened as one of Gnocx's swords vanished in a shower of sparks.

"What the-?" he gasped before he blinked as Gnocx's now empty hand appeared infront of his face.

"Fire," Gnocx said, causing his hand to ignite and a ball of flame to explode in Sham's face sending him stumbling back.

"Brother!" Buchi cried, giving Zoro an opening to kick him in the stomach.

As both brother's stumbled back, Zoro and Gnocx both noticed Nami running by, staff in hand as she ran down the hill. Jango noticed this to and he took one of his rings out.

Nami kept her focus tunneled onto Zoro's swords, that lie further down. She reached them without a problem but as soon as she bent to pick one up, a foot fell, stopping her, and before she could look back up, pain exploded from her back.

Usopp gasped as Jango had stepped forward, planted his foot on the swords, and used one of his rings, which were apparently more than a hypnosis tool, to slash into Nami's back. She gasped as she fell forward, grasping her shoulder.

"Now whatever would you need a sword for?" he asked before turning his attention upward.

The other fighters' attentions were caught as a scream emanated through the battle field. Zoro, Usopp, Gnocx, and the Myaban Brothers all looked down to Jango, stopping the fight. Jango had a look of complete fear as he stared up the hill, a shape could be seen in the reflection of his glasses.

The four fighters looked up the hill and the brothers screamed as well.

"No," Jango trembled. "I…I can explain all of this."

Not affected by the various gazes directed at him, the man who had just arrived adjusted his glasses and glared down at them all.

"The night has long since past," Captain Kuro seethed. "So why is it that there has been no progress made on the plan?"

At the bottom of the hill, those who had been unconscious and were beginning to stir, began to tremble in fear like their stronger crewmates.

"It's all over," Usopp whispered.

Zoro stared cool;y up at the Black Cat Captain.

"So he finally decides to show himself," Gnocx said.

Nami held her bleeding shoulder as she glanced up the hill.

Luffy continued to snore away under the cat figure head.

Kuro adjusted his glasses one more time before his glare intensified.

"What the hell is going on!"

* * *

**Gotta say... I hate writing for those three kids... I don't know why.. I just do. Well I hope you enjoyed, and I apologize if you don't like the fights, I'm trying by best to not make them one hit wins like they were in the anime. Well other than this... Not much to say... Have a nice weekend everyone and see you next week.**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	16. Battle On The Slope: Kaya and Klahadore

**Me: "Hello!"**

**PR: "Baka! I don't need some funny skit today! Hurry and do the disclaimer so I can go back to feeling cheated about the latest Loveless updates and so you can finally finish your one shot!"**

**I blink at her as she crosses her arms and pins me with a serious look...**

**Me: "But...I was gonna talk about how I am losing control of Gnocx..."**

**PR: "Alright, I'll bite...You've said that a lot now what do you mean?"**

**Me: "Well, it's nothing too major but I've noticed that I've been accidentally giving him some of my speaking mannerisms, meaning he talks like I do sometimes..."**

**PR: :deadpans: "It happens, just be more aware, now... Disclaim!"  
**

**Me: "I own nothing and it's a good thing I don't because I can't even seem to come up with a decent opening skit this week..."**

**PR: :rolls eyes: "Get back to work!"**

**Me: "Fine. But we're still skyping later on. So I can see your reactions."**

**PR: "I never said we weren't now write."**

* * *

Chapter 16

"To think these brats have kept you back this long," Captain Kuro sneered as he dropped his bag and the veins in his forehead began to bulge in his anger. "How the Black Cat Pirates have fallen. What have you got to say for yourself, Jango!"

The name was a scream of anger, echoing of the walls of the cliffs. Gnocx and Zoro simply stared while the enemies all trembled in the prescence of their master's anger.

"uh, well, I—uh, you said…" Jango stuttered, trying to find his voice.

At his feet lie Nami, who was holding onto her shoulder as the cut Jango delivered to her back bled.

"I'm sorry, sir," Jango said in his first coherent sentence. "But you said that letting the kid go wouldn't cause any problems."

Usopp stared dumbly between the two from his perch on the cliff.

"I did say that," Kuro replied. "He's an idiot, I knew no one would take his warnings seriously and he would stumble back here to make a stand. The only thing I didn't take into account was your inexcusable weakness!"

"It's not that we're weak, sir," Jango tried to explain. "It's that—"

"Who are you to call us weak!"

Jango jumped when Sham stopped shaking and started to glare at their former captain.

"Yeah," Buchi agreed. "What about you, Captain Kuro?"

Zoro looked over at Gnocx and raised an eyebrow, Gnocx simply stepped to the side in order to clear the path between Sham and Kuro.

_This might be interesting,_ Gnocx thought, looking back at Zoro.

_They might start to take each other out, _Zoro mused as he also stepped to the side for Buchi. _That would make our job easier._

"You used to be quite the killer in your time," Sham continued, not noticing his opponent's actions. "Face it, It's been three years, and we haven't exactly been living the good life, waiting hand and foot on some spoiled girl."

"That's right!" Buchi added. "For three long years we've been sinking pirate ships and massacring villages."

"Are you finished?" Kuro asked them after blinking.

"We've been doing nothing but getting stronger," Sham exclaimed.

"There's no way you can beat the Myanban brothers!" Buchi cried.

Gnocx and Zoro just watched as the two ran by them and readied their claws to sink into their captain.

"Sham, Buchi, stop!" Jango fearfully cried out.

"You're no longer our captain!" Sham cried as they got closer.

Kuro leaned down and swiftly picked his bag up.

"Yeah, sorry, but we have to kill you now!" Buchi informed him as they were within feet of him.

In simultaneous movements, like they were meant to as a combo, Sham and Buchi lashed out with their claws. Their eyes widened when instead of flesh, they tore through the bag Kuro was carrying.

Gnocx and Zoro's eyes widened as Kuro suddenly appeared behind the brothers, with his bladed gloves in his hand.

"How did he?" Gnocx asked himself.

"Not good, he's fast," Zoro observed. "And what are those weapons?"

"I'm sorry," Kuro started as he spread his fingers and these black sheaths on each of his blades slipped off, revealing the spotless steal underneath. "But who were you going to kill?"

"He snuck up behind us!" Sham shouted as they both wheeled around to attack again.

Gnocx watched as Kuro seemed to disappear again. Zoro's grip tightened on his sword as he looked around, trying to find where he could be. They only observed as this duel between former allies played out.

"Pussy foot maneuver," Jango identified with shaky hands.

"Pussy foot…maneuver?" Nami asked from where she lay.

"You know," Kuro said as he appeared behind the brother's once more. "You're right."

The fear in the brothers' eyes was unmistakable as they each found themselves trapped in Kuro's claws. His blades inches from their necks.

"I do…feel a bit sluggish after all these years," he explained as if he just simply woke from a nap.

_He's handling them like babies,_ Nami observed with wide eyes.

_Zoro and I struggled with them,_ Gnocx thought to himself. _Granted Zoro is handicapped, but still… If we can't shape up and take care of them… then how will we fair against him._

_With his pussy foot maneuver, _Jango worried. _He could shred everyone on this beach before we took our next breath. We wouldn't even see it coming._

_ I need my swords back,_ was going through Zoro's mind. _Gnocx and I are good fighers, but it'll take all we have to beat these guys with Luffy out of commission._

Down at the bottom of the hill, Luffy snored peacefully under the cat figurehead, unaware of the outside.

"You're very lucky," Kuro said, breaking all these thoughts. "I'm feeling merciful today. Maybe all these years on dry land have made me soft."

He slowly withdrew his blades and stepped back.

"I'll give you five minutes," Kuro said to them. "If you can't deal with the situation here in the next five minutes, then I will kill all of you."

Sham and Buchi fearfully looked back at him as he backed further away.

"Now have I made myself clear?" Kuro asked as he lifted his blades on either side of him.

"Oh, oh yes," Jango spoke. "Perfectly clear, sir, thank you for being so forgiving."

He looked up the hill at Zoro and Gnocx.

"All we have to do is take care of these two guys!" Jango exclaimed.

Zoro glanced back at his swords as Nami stood up behind Jango. Gnocx kept his eyes on the brothers as he called his second sword.

Kuro's looked over momentarily at Gnocx's display but other than a pondering expression, he took no action.

At once, the brother's began their charge.

"We had these two on the ropes before!" Buchi cried.

"We won't even need one minute to finish them this time!" Sham cried.

They broke off, each taking their previous opponents as they got nearer.

"Zoro!" Nami screamed.

Zoro looked back to see that Nami had snuck past Jango and was at his swords.

"What the-?" Jango exclaimed, having dropped his guard.

Nami put one foot under both swords and with a heave, kicked them into the air toward their owner.

"Hey!" Zoro exclaimed. "Don't just kick them, they're my swords!"

Nami glared up at him.

"How about a thank you," she suggested when the swords flew above his head.

Zoro smirked before tossing the sword he had into the air then jumping to catch the other two, one in each hand, sliding their sheaths off as he moved, then placing his white hilted Wado Ichimongi in his mouth before finally catching the one he tossed in the air with his now vacant hand.

"Yeah, thanks," Zoro grinned over his sword.

"If you're done showing off," Gnocx said as he took off to the side to intercept Sham. "We're kind of fighting right now."

Zoro flourished his swords before settling in a stance where his two hand swords were held upside down, perpendicular to his mouth sword.

"It doesn't matter how many swords you have," Buchi cried as he split off from Sham to go for Zoro. "You're still weak so this will be cake!"

"You don't get it," Zoro replied as he dashed. "Tiger Trap!"

Gnocx crouched down and then held both swords parallel to his side. He tightened his grip and the tips of his blades ignited. Then as Sham got within range, he spun around once, then kicked himself forward of the ground. The flames from the tips of his blades created a raging ring of fire around him that accentuated the slice he made as he passed Sham.

"Fire surge," Gnocx muttered.

As Gnocx's attack left a criss cross on Sham's chest that smoked from his fire spell, Zoro's Tiger Trap left three gashes in various directions on Buchi's body. The howled as blood sprayed from their chests and the momentum from their running sent them sprawling to the ground and down the hill to Jango's feet.

"The clock…is ticking," Kuro informed them, not making a move.

Zoro looked behind him at Buchi's body.

"Three swords won't help," Zoro told him, finishing his statement from earlier. "Unless you know three sword style."

"From one actor to another," Gnocx said to Sham's downed form. "You suck."

"Oh no," Jango said as Buchi struggled to get back up, but failed. "This is bad.

_These two defeated the Myanban Brothers with one attack a piece…_

Down at the bottom of the floor, the now conscious Black Cat crew had all of their jaws hit the ground.

Gnocx looked over at Zoro as he began to laugh. Kuro remained straight faced at his decimated crew. When he finished laughing, Zoro pointed one of his swords at him.

"I can promise you," Zoro said with a bloodthirsty grin. "That everything will be taken care of in less than five minutes."

Kuro's straight face faulted and he let out a chuckle followed by a grin as he looked down at them both.

"Well, I'm glad he's amused," Gnocx deadpanned. "Could you stop with the bragging, at least until we're sure their done."

"What are you talking about," Zoro scoffed, looking away from Kuro. "Of course they're done."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but remember the hypnotist," Gnocx explained as he looked back down at them.

"Oh yeah," Zoro remembered. "I guess I just don't find him threatening."

"I don't either," Gnocx agreed. "His only power lies in his hypnosis, but unfortunately that's what we need to watch out for."

"Three," Kuro interrupted as he adjusted his glasses. "Three minutes left."

Jango jumped as Buchi grabbed his leg.

"Captain, please," He begged as he coughed up blood. "I…know I can do it, please…hypnotize me."

"You both do sloppy work," Kuro told Zoro, who was still glaring at him. "He's still alive…they both are."

Zoro snapped his neck around just in time to see Jango bend down and pull out his ring as Buchi got on his shoulders and Sham pushed himself onto his back. They each had blood pouring from their mouths and their wounds as Jango began the routine.

Zoro accidentally opened his mouth and dropped his sword as he saw the muscles in Buchi's back begin to expand. It was as if someone was putting air into a balloon. At the same time, Sham's fists clenched and his eyes closed as his body went through a similar change.

"Oh, great," Zoro cursed as he kicked his sword back up into his hand before placing it back in his mouth. "He was already trouble at half that size.

Buchi suddenly stood up straight and threw his arms into the air as he let out a guttural roar. Sham sat up and looked at Gnocx, eyes completely glazed over and face snarling, promising revenge.

Nami could only stare in horror at what awaited her friends.

_There's no way they can do this,_ she despaired, fearing the worst.

She suddenly looked behind her at the cleared path. All the Black Cat crew members were mesmerized by the goings on above them. Jango was also focused on the fight. With no other idea, she took off toward the figurehead.

"Huh?" Jango muttered as he heard her footfalls and looked behind him.

_Now's the chance, _Nami realized as she ran. _I gotta wake the idiot up while I still can!_

"What's that girl up to," Jango mused as he began to swing his ring on it's stick. "Something tricky I'm sure."

"That lazy bum!" Nami shouted as she ran by the perplexed crewman. "Everyone else is fighting for their lives while he's sleeping!"

She wound around the figure head and ran up to see Luffy's snoring face exposed.

Jango spun his ring faster and faster, then finally, wheeled around and let it fly. The pirates watched and Zoro's and Gnocx's eyes widened as they saw what he did.

"Nami!" Zoro shouted as she stepped on Luffy's face.

"Wake up you lazy ass-huh?" she broke off and looked behind her, foot still on his face.

"Get down!" Gnocx yelled as the brother's got closer to them.

"Two minutes left," Kuro informed, still only observing.

Nami's eyes widened as the disc closed in.

_I thought it was just a hypnosis charm._

Under her foot, Luffy's eyes opened and he grimaced, which looked even more comical with nami's heel buried in his cheek.

"Hey," he muffled. "Get off me."

He reached and grabbed her ankle.

The frozen navigator was shocked as she found herself falling to the ground.

"Nami!" Luffy, now upright, shouted, causing her to look back as she fell. "You can't just go around stepping on peoples' faces—"

He was interrupted as he had become the rings new target as he pulled Nami down. His head snapped back as the ring made contact.

"What!" Jango shouted. "How can that twerp still be alive!"

"It's about damn time," Gnocx muttered as he relaxed slightly.

The brothers had stopped their rage for the moment to look back at what was happening.

"It's either the best timing in the world," Zoro said as he stuck two of his swords in the ground, and then leaned his elbow on them as he pulled the third out of his mouth. "Or the worst, I can't tell."

"Luffy's mouth saves him again," Gnocx deadpanned at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Kuro only watched, face still stone.

Luffy stumbled back before finally stopping himself.

"Luffy?" Nami asked, worried.

Just as she called his name, cracks began to appear on the disc, before Luffy looked back up. It was revealed that his mouth did indeed save him as he had caught the ring in between his teeth. With a throbbing vein, he bit down harder and the ring shattered, the pieces falling into the sand.

"Luffy!" Nami cheered.

The corners of Luffy's eyes had wet spots in them as he touched his cheek, he wimpered slightly before grabbing his face and shouting.

"Oooooowwww!" he cried loud enough to echo throughput the battlefield.

He glared at Nami as he held his face.

"That hurt!" He screamed at her. "You jerk!"

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty!" she shouted back in a rage. "It wasn't me!"

Her bodies fatigued chose that moment to catch up to her and she wobbled slightly before falling back into the sand.

"It…wasn't me," she mumbled.

"Hey, Nami, you okay?" Luffy asked, mood changed.

"It's nothing," she explained, despite the blood soaking through her shirt. "I've done all I can. I leave the rest to you… do it…for the treasure."

Luffy's face had brightened as her speech went on but as she reached her last bit, his face fell and turned confused.

"Well…" he started, unsure of how to respond. "Alright….sure."

Luffy then walked forward and picked up his hat that had fallen off as the figurehead crushed him.

"Go," Nami grinned, more to herself. "Protect my treasure."

"Yeah, yeah," Luffy waved off as we walked further by and put his hat on his head. "For the treasure, got it."

"One minute…and counting," Kuro informed, showing no surprise at the turn of events.

This sent his crewmen into a frenzy, there was no way they could take care of these guys in just a minute.

"Buchi, Sham," Jango advised as he pulled out two more rings. "No more messing around, you two deal with that three sword bastard and that guy with the fire powers. I'll deal with the bendable kid."

"Actually," Kuro interrupted as Luffy looked up. "You won't…Time's up…you knew the deal…Now you all die."

He lowered his hands and spread his 'claws' out on either side.

Suddenly, Luffy and Kuro both did a double take as they saw each other more closely.

"Why is that shady butler here?" Luffy asked.

"It's that kid," Kuro observed. "Didn't he die when he fell off that cliff yesterday?"

He suddenly smirked and stood on his toes.

"Nice trick," he complimented before his eyes widened slightly.

Usopp had been observing the fighting the whole time, too beat up to really do anything, but when he heard heavy breathing, he looked over to the path behind Kuro and his eyes widened as a figure was running towards all of them. Quickly, as if he were as good as new, he sprung forward, intending to intercept the new arrival.

"If you don't wish to die," Kuro seethed, having sensed the arrival. "Don't sneak up on me!"

Usopp lunged just as Kuro wheeled around and lashed out with one of his hands.

"Kaya!" Usopp shouted as he grabbed her and essentially tackled her to the ground, taking a blade to the shoulder in the process.

Kuro's eyes widened fully now that he realized who he had just almost ripped apart. He immediately schooled his expression and returned to his stance.

Kaya had managed to get out from under Usopp and started to shake him.

"Usopp, Usopp are you alright?" She asked on her knees.

"What are you doing here Kaya?" Usopp panted as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me," she replied answering the wrong question. "I just couldn't believe it…that Klahadore is a scheming, murdering pirate."

"Never mind that," Usopp protested. "Why are you here, Kaya your life is in danger. You need to run somewhere safe."

"I won't!" Kaya denied, tears streaming down her face. "You're still here fighting, I won't run!"

Usopp's eyes widened at her words and he looked at her.

"You…fought for me even after I treated you like dirt," she told him. "Look at you. You're barely alive but you're still so brave. I just—"

"This is no place for a lady," Kuro-Klahadore told her, reverting to the same tone he would use with her as her butler. "Madame, please leave."

Kaya's eyes widened and her breath halted as she realized that Klahadore was still there. Her face turned angry and she ground her teeth.

"Please, stop," she ordered in a whisper. "Don't do this."

Kuro nearly flinched in surprise before returning to stone.

"Stop this right now, Klahadore!" She shouted with a ferocity that was unlike her.

For a moment, and just a moment, Kuro actually began to appear torn as he stared at her in shock.

"I know what you're up to," she told him, standing up. "Merry already told me about everything."

One by one, all of the combatants, who were waiting for something to set them off, looked up as they realized she was there.

"Why is she here?" Jango asked himself.

Down with Luffy, the crewmen began to smile and hope gleamed in their eyes because hey, they only needed to kill that girl right? Then it's mission accomplished and Captain Kuro wouldn't kill them.

"If you want my estate," Kaya told him as the others listened. "You can have it, take it all and leave this village right now. I'm begging you."

"I would gladly accept your fortune," Kuro told her, back to business. "Thank you…but…you see…I want more."

He adjusted his glasses as he put on a cheesy grin.

"You see, wealth isn't enough," he continued, surprising her. "More than anything else…what I want…is peace."

As he finished his eyes grew wistful as he imagined the peace he craved.

"Peace?" Kaya asked.

"Yes," Kuro confirmed. "Peace, peace of mind. I have spent the last three years earning the trust of the entire village. To be honest, I find this sense of peace and tranquility comforting. When my plan comes to fruition, I will live with that sublime peace of mind."

Kaya backed up as she realized she wasn't going to get him to leave. She reached into her coat.

"Yes!" Kuro exclaimed holding his arms out before crossing them over his chest. "I will live here in that comfort forever and ever!"

He then turned and spread his hand, gesturing to the crowd below.

"In short!" he explained. "These pirates are coming! And you!"

He turned back to her and pointed his other hand, claws straight, at her.

"Will leave your fortune to me…and die! These things, Miss Kaya, will happen."

"No," she whispered, hand shaking in her coat. "You can't."

"Kaya!" Usopp screamed as he grabbed her ankle. "Leave, you can't reason with him."

"No, you—" Kaya stuttered as she withdrew her hand, revealing a pistol in her grip.

"You can't!" she declared, pointing it at her former butler. "Leave her and never come back!"

Kuro only blinked at her before shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh?" he questioned. "You'd point a gun at me?"

"Stop it! Just leave! Go!"

"Yes, I see," Kuro said as he pulled one of his gloves off. "Do you remember, Miss Kaya?"

Kaya stopped shaking and waited for him to continue.

"These last three years, even before your parents passed, all the time we spent together. You were more than my master, you were my best friend."

He adjusted his glasses as he said this, eyes closed as he knew exactly the effect he was having on her.

"So much time," he continued. "So many memories, together we suffered, together we rejoiced."

He looked at her and gone was all the evil she had seen a moment before and there was the man she had gotten to know the past three years.

"Like family."

"Klahadore," she whispered as tears began to gather again.

"I took you on shopping trips, I looked after you so diligently when you were ill, and we used to talk for hours and hours."

Kaya whimpered as the tears began to fall.

"Kaya," Klahadore addressed as he reached out and his hand closed over the pistol. "I was entirely devoted to you. For so long….for so very long."

As his grip tightened over the weapon and he ended his sentence, his voice hardened once again and the evil returned.

"I endured it," she told her, effectively running all his blades through her heart in the emotional sense. "I quietly suffered so that today… I could end your life and take all that I deserve!"

He lifted the pistol from her hand, with no resistance.

"I was the once feared and respected Captain Kuro," he told her. "And to bow and humble myself for some snot nosed little girl…It went against every fiber of my being."

He let the pistol fall to the ground.

"Damn you," Usopp glared at him with all his might.

"Can you understand the daily insult this brings?" he asked, ignoring Usopp. "Can you understand the rage that builds from those transgressions against my pride!"

Down at the bottom, Luffy's eye twitched and air steadily made its' way from his nostrils as he stared up at Kuro.

Usopp took this opportunity to grab the pistol at Kuro's feet making the man look down at him.

"Kuro!" Usopp shouted as he stood back up.

Kuro smirked as Usopp pointed the gun at him and fired.

Kuro somehow flashed to the side, as quick as he is, and slipped the glove back on.

"Thank you for reminding me," Kuro told him as he ended up behind Usopp and trapped his head with his claws surrounding it. "You hit me before, let's get even."

"Oh, no, Usopp!" Kaya gasped.

"As I recall," Kuro began as he used one hand to gingerly rip the patch on his cheek off, exposing the mark Usopp made the day before. "You hit me as hard as you could."

Usopp shivered as he expected the blow to come. His eyes widened as he saw a fist heading straight for him.

Kuro had only time to widen his eyes before Luffy's fist planted itself in his face, sending him flying back and freeing Usopp at the same time.

Luffy grinned as his arm retracted itself. Zoro, Gnocx, and Nami all smirked as they saw Kuro get hit and Usopp, Kaya, and the Black Cat crew all gaped as Kuro hit the ground.

"If he hates getting hit so much," Luffy said as his arm finished retracting. "Then he's about to have a really bad day."

* * *

**Well, that's that. Now I need to get to finishing the one shot I told you guys about weeks ago. Be on the lookout I will hopefully be done with it soon. It's taking a lot longer than anticipated because I just can't seem to get more than about 500 words done at a time, and right now it's about 5200 words long... And I still have a bit to go. So... Until Next week or if it happens sooner, the one shot comes out.**


	17. BOTS: The Strawhats VS The Black Cats

**Me: "Hello!"**

**PR: :Says nothing but is reading a book: "I hate you."**

**Me: :sighs: "What did I do now?"**

**PR: "You insisted that I read these books and you even told me about the romance in it knowing it would interest me! Now despite it having some of my pet peeves I wanna finish them!"**

**Me: "For those of you at home, we are referring to Percy Jackson."**

**PR: "Yes and he told me about Percabeth so I had to read it because I saw the movie and thought they would be a good couple."**

**Me: "I'm still glad that they actually got her hair right in the upcoming movie."**

**PR: :rolls eyes then goes back to reading:**

**Me: "Since my comedic improvisation is lacking this week, we'll just get right to it, I own nothing from One Piece or Kingdom Hearts, but I am in negotiations..."**

**PR: "Not gonna happen."**

* * *

Chapter 17

With the exception of a few, just about everyone's jaw hit the ground as Kuro was knocked back and onto the ground.

When Kuro hit the ground, he remained motionless. Kaya covered her mouth as she looked in shock. Usopp, who was next to her, gaped at Kuro's body. The Black Cat crew looked in horror at Luffy as Zoro and Gnocx just stared up at where the pirate captain had been.

"Right…" Nami said from where she was sitting. "I'll just leave this to you guys then, I'm gonna go find my treasure."

"What kind of freak is he?" One of the pirates yelled.

No one could see from their angle, but the very conscious Klahadore had his eyes trained to where he knew Luffy to be.

The tense atmosphere suddenly broke as familiar shouts approached.

"Usopp Pirates!" The three kids exclaimed, much to the shock of everyone there.

The leapt as one into the air, each wielding something different, a shovel, a frying pan, and a club. Then, also as one, they brought them down on Klahadore's face.

Usopp's eyes widened more in horror than shock as Zoro cringed and Gnocx sweat dropped.

"Those kids have a death wish," Zoro said to Gnocx who simply stared at them with a bored look on his face.

"Stop!" Usopp screamed at the kids. "Get away from him!"

"We'll let you off easy," Pepper told Kuro, whose glasses were now askew and his face dirtied.

"Oh, no," Jango muttered, taking a step back. "Now those brats have done it. Captain Kuro is gonna be so mad."

The three seemed to ignore everything that was going on and ran over to the battered Usopp.

"Captain, we knew you were fighting!" Pepper exclaimed. "I thought you said there were no secrets between us pirates?"

"Who cares about that!" Usopp screamed in fear. "Look, you guys gotta go! Run!"

Behind them, Kuro opened his eyes.

"No way!" Onion cried.

"We'll be shamed if we run…in…"

Whatever Carrot was going to add was cut off as Kuro appeared behind them, dangerously brandishing his blades. The evil man lifted his hand to adjust his glasses, only for the lenses to shatter the moment he touched them. As he scowled, the suddenly cowardly children began to scream.

"Run you idiots!" Usopp demanded as Kuro's scowl turned into an exceedingly intense glare.

Kuro began to move and their screaming intensified. It subsided however, when Kuro actually walked around them and came to stand in front of Usopp. The sharp shooter had only a second to blink before Kuro's foot lashed out and hit him in the chest, sending him sprawling down the slope a few feet. From there he ignored Usopp and turned his glare to Luffy.

"That hurt," he stated, referring to Luffy's previous punch. "Tell me something. That was an interesting technique you developed. Could it be that you developed it as a result of the devil fruit?"

"Yep," Luffy replied with a grin, causing the other grunts to panic even further. "I ate the Gum Gum Fruit."

Jango stared at Luffy as comprehension dawned on him.

_Now things make more sense,_ he mused to himself. _I knew I wasn't imaging his arm stretching._

_ "_Jango!" Kuro shouted, knocking him out of it and making him jump. "I'll handle the boy. You go and take care of Miss Kaya like we planned. Have her write her butler in her will…then kill her."

Kaya's eyes widened and her jaw locked as she looked over at Klahadore.

"And those kids," he added, referring to the Usopp pirates. "They're an eyesore, get rid of them."

"As you wish," Jango said as he stepped forward.

Before he could take his second, Zoro held his sword out to his side.

"Not so fast," he told the hypnotist. If you want to get to those kids, you have to get through us first."

Gnocx stepped forward then and held his one sword in front of himself like a fencer.

"Sham, Buchi!" Jango ordered without hesitation.

A green blur flew past the hypnotist and a clawed hand met Gnocx's sword, pushing him back as Sham charged at him.

Behind Jango, Buchi crouched down and his veins throbbed as his adrenaline pumped. Then, with a giant leap, he went for Zoro.

As Zoro jumped out of the way of Buchi's landing, Gnocx just managed to push Sham off of him long enough to call his second sword but too slow to avoid being kicked in the stomach. With an 'oof' he was lifted off his feet for only a second as he touched back down, being thrown back a couple yards. He ducked as the rabid brother lunged again and with a quick roll, ended up behind Sham. As he stood, in a fluid motion, he brought his swords around and one at a time, lashed out with them. Sham leaned forward to dodge the first slash then snapped backward and bent back to catch the second in his claws. Before he could react, Gnocx was tugged forward and Sham managed to sweep around and use his leg to trip him up, before releasing his sword and then hitting him with both hands, his claws buried in Gnocx's skin and the force of his palm strike sent Gnocx into the cliff wall.

While this was happening, Zoro had leapt back before Buchi slammed into the ground, unfortunately, none of them anticipated the damage he would cause with his enhanced strength. Zoro stumbled as the impact sent fractures through the ground that formed a network of cracks and essentially tore apart part of the ground. The cracks continued up the walls on either side so as Gnocx was being thrown into one of them, the cliffs seemed to split.

Zoro had managed to stabilize himself but Buchi's attack had created a dust cloud. A flash from the corner of eye and he brought up one of his swords to defend. His intuition proved correct as a hand burst from the smoke and caught his sword. Zoro grunted as the enormous man used his increased strength to shove Zoro into the opposite wall as Gnocx.

From where he lie and watch, Usopp gritted his teeth as he saw Zoro and Gnocx being overwhelmed.

"Those guys are nuts," he muttered to himself, but then his head snapped to the side as he saw Jango walk calmly by.

"Kaya!" he screamed as Jango make his way to Kuro. "Run!"

Kaya remained motionless, her eyes dead, like she was catatonic.

When he didn't see her running, Usopp clenched his fists and began to think.

_I can't let this happen, I need to get her out of here._

A lightbulb appeared to go off in his head because he stopped shaking and his eyes went wide.

"Usopp Pirates!" he called using the most authoritative voice he could muster.

The kids went slack-jawed while Jango paused, Kuro looked down at him, Luffy looked up, Zoro side-eyed them as he planted his foot in Buchi's face in an attempt to keep him from getting closer, and Gnocx moved his head to the side in time for Sham's claws to bury themselves in the rock.

"Yes sir!" they replied as soon as they found their voices.

"I need you to listen to me carefully—"

"No!" Carrot interrupted. "We won't just leave, not after they did this to you."

"Yeah!" Pepper agreed. "We'll avenge you!"

"Protect Kaya," Usopp ordered, ignoring their insubordination. "Don't argue. This is the most important task right now. Take Kaya and head into the forest, keep her away from here. Protect what's dear to us, that's why we became pirates isn't it? So do as I say, and run!"

The kids stared for a moment before shouting their agreement.

"Come on, Kaya, this way," they told her as Pepper grabbed her hand and they led her into the woods.

_One factor gone,_ Gnocx said as he kicked Sham in the chest in an effort to get away.

_Geez, he made running away sound brave, _Zoro observed as he and Buchi continued their struggle.

"Jango," Kuro snapped at his hypnotist.

"Wha, oh sorry, I was gawking," Jango apologized before taking two rings out of his coat and twirling them on a finger. "Did they honestly think they could escape from—gah!"

He dropped his rings and was knocked forward as a lead ball, courtesy of Usopp's slingshot, hit him in the back. He stumbled before angrily rounding on the marksman.

"You little…" he seethed.

"He's not a priority!" Kuro screamed at him.

Jango jumped and his anger fled.

"Oh…right…yes sir!"

As Jango fled after Kaya and the kids, Kuro glared down at Usopp, his attention focused so he didn't see Luffy begin to walk up the slope.

"Their escape attempt is futile," Kuro mocked, brandishing his claws. "I know all too well how weak Kaya is. They will never escape Jango. You can go and help her if you wish but…I'm afraid you'll never make it off this hill alive, Usopp."

His gaze flicked down the hill and his eyes widened as he saw Luffy coming closer.

"Sham, Buchi!" he called to his only men left still fighting.

Sham didn't seem to hear his voice as he tried stabbing Gnocx with his claws. Gnocx jumped to the side and Sham's hand buried itself into the rocky wall. The snarling man turned just in time for Gnocx's sword to tear into his back. Blood spurted from the single strike in his back as Sham howled. He tried to retaliate by grabbing Gnocx, but was too slow as he sidestepped once again and landed another hit on his side. Under the hypnosis it appeared as though Sham had lost most of his thought process as he seemed to just try the same attacks over again.

_He made this easy,_ Gnocx concluded as he stepped back to avoid another swipe.

Sham seemed to be slowing down; the cause had to be the bloodloss.

_Jango turned off his pain receptors._

He blocked as Sham tried to claw down his torso. With a flick of his wrist, he threw off Sham's balance.

_He won't stop until he's dead or..._

Sham got his balance back but then made a confused grunt as Gnocx's hand appeared in front of his face.

"Fission Firaga."

Gnocx stared with a stone face as his fireball hit and exploded, engulfing Sham and sending his burnt body down the slope. The other crewman screamed as the unconscious body of one of their strongest was laid at their feet.

At the same time, Zoro brought his foot out of Buchi's face before kicking him in the stomach. Buchi's air was knocked out of him and Zoro used the opening to make a diagonal slas across his chest, adding to the wounds already there.

"Now stay down this time," Zoro said as he let out a breath.

Buchi remained motionless.

With his fight over, Zoro threw his swords into the air and then held out his sheaths. Gnocx looked over and rolled his eyes as each of his swords fell smoothly into their sheaths.

Up at the top, Kuro glared down at his incompetent men, before turning to Usopp just as loud noises emanated from the woods.

"What's that?" Usopp asked in fear.

"That would be the sounds of destruction," Kuro answered simply. "Jango is surely tearing the place apart trying to find Kaya. You can go see for yourself…that is…if you can get up."

"You," Usopp began as he struggled to even sit up. "Heartless bastard! Do you even have a shred of pity? You lived with her for three years!"

"I told you already," Kuro answered, annoyed. "Kaya is merely my pawn in a game I intend to win. When she's dead…then I'll be grateful to her."

Usopp glared as the three below them listened.

"This guy is hopelessly evil," Zoro said.

_If I couldn't see it, I'd actually believe he was a Heartless, _Gnocx thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes.

"Then let's put him out of his misery," Luffy told them. "Hey! Usopp!"

Usopp looked down at him.

"Go after the others, we'll handle this guy," Luffy told him, face set in a glare.

Zoro had on a glare to match while Gnocx's face was straight.

Usopp inhaled and closed his eyes, then, with shaky limbs, he managed to lift himself onto his knees. Kuro raised a brow as Usopp stood. He couldn't stand upright but he was on his feet, tremors racked his body from all the damage it had taken up to that point. Luffy grinned as Usopp finally managed to make it.

"Ah, so you can still move," Kuro condescended.

"Shut up!" Usopp barked. "You're not getting away with betraying the village and Kaya like this. This is the last time you're getting your way."

His bravado proved fruitless as he utterly collapsed after taking about half a step.

"Usopp!" Luffy cried out.

"I…can't move," Usopp despaired. "It hurts…it hurts so much."

Kuro sneered down at Usopp before he burst into an uncharacteristic amount of laughter.

"I betrayed everyone?" Kuro asked in mock innocence. "Grow up. The villagers were all a part of the plan. A town liar who prances around and plays pirate with children has no right to start talking like a real pirate. So just lie there on the ground, even if you were to somehow catch up to Jango, he'd end your life in a heartbeat."

"I don't care," Usopp said, interrupting Kuro's post monologue cackling. "I don't care that I'm weak, I'll protect them… I'm the captain of the Usopp Pirates, a man who fights for what he cares for. I'll protect the whole village even if it kills me!"

Luffy had this indescribable look in his eyes, his teeth grit and his eyes promised pain.

"Hey look at that, the kid's crying," one of the black cats said as he and his crew started to laugh.

Immediately Luffy rounded on them and had vanished before Gnocx or Zoro could see where he went.

At the bottom the laughter abruptly turned into screams of pain as a giant boulder landed in the crowd of pirates. Zoro smirked while Gnocx appeared amused at the expressions of fear on the pirates' faces.

"What's so funny?" Luffy shouted in a voice so menacing, it appeared as though some of the pirates were about to relieve themselves.

Zoro walked over and threw Usopp over his shoulder.

"Luffy!" He called. "The three of us are going to go after the hypno freak. Is that a problem?"

"No," he replied without looking at them. "Hurry."

"We'll leave him to you then," Gnocx said as he followed Zoro up the hill.

"And just where do you three think you're going?" Kuro asked as Zoro came to stand beside him. "Who gave you permission to leave?"

"I did?" Luffy shouted as he stretched his hand toward Kuro.

The Black Cat Captain sidestepped the hand, but was successfully pushed away from Zoro.

"Zoro, Space Guy, Usopp, Hurry!" Luffy cried as he propelled himself toward Kuro.

"Have another!" he shouted as he tried to hit him.

Kuro disappeared, causing Luffy to stumble. Just as he regained his footing, he had to duck as Kuro had appeared behind him and attempted to take his head.

"Gum Gum," he started as he stood on his hands, feet pressed together and pointed at Kuro. "Spear!"

His feet shot out, but once again, Kuro had disappeared.

"Damn it," Luffy cursed as his feet retracted and he stood upright.

"Before I kill you," Kuro warned as he reappeared a dozen yards away. "I feel the need to ask, why would an outsider like you bother with the affairs of this island?"

"Because there's a man in this village I don't want to let die," Luffy explained.

"Simple, are you okay with that being the reason you die?"

"Sure am, but, I'm not the one who's gonna lose."

"We'll see."

Kuro ran for him at the same time Luffy stretched out both hands. They grabbed onto his shoulders and then Luffy kicked off the ground, his arm acted as a bungee that pulled his body toward Kuro, his feet forward as if to kick him. With a twist of his body, Kuro used the move against Luffy and sent him into the ground. Deflected, Luffy retracted his arms and spun himself back onto his feet.

"Gum Gum Whip!" he cried as he lashed out with his foot, but only to have Kuro jump into the air.

"Pistol!" Luffy called, changing attacks and sending out his fist.

Kuro dodged that too and Luffy's eyes widened as the cat landed on his stretched arm, using it as a post.

"This is quite boring," Kuro mocked before running along his arm.

"You cocky jerk!" Luffy bit before being kicked in the face and sent to the ground.

"Captain Kuro laid him out," one of the pirates muttered as they watched. "Some good that devil fruit did him."

Then they all started cheering, praising 'Captain Kuro' and telling him to kill the rubber boy.

"Don't…" Kuro muttered, suddenly seething. "Don't call me that!"

The cheering ceased and the men looked up in confusion.

"You still don't get it…fools. This plan was devised so I may be rid of that name once and for all!"

Luffy, from his crouched position, looked at him in befuddlement.

"I'm tired of it…Concocting plans for a bunch of barbarians who care only about havoc and mayhem! Relentlessly attacked by bounty hunters and government dogs! I'm sick of it, I'm sick and tired of that entire cursed life!"

The crew simply stared in silence, too stunned to react.

"And when today's plan succeeds, I will finally live the life I deserve. The wealth and piece of mind will finally be mine."

He looked down at Luffy who was simply staring stoically back.

"Do you see now, boy? This is why I won't let all these years of planning go down the drain, especially a drain resulting from an urchin like you!"

Luffy sent his arms behind him just as Kuro began to charge. Just as he was in striking distance, Luffy pulled his arms, and the boulder from before, back and planted it between them, causing Kuro's right set of blades to sink into it.

"Well," Kuro said as he struggled with the boulder. "It appears that you can do more than just stretch."

"That's right," Luffy said, before crushing a good portion of the boulder simply by squeezing it.

He then yanked what was left to the side and snapped Kuro's blades off of his glove. The wide eyed pirate captain stared in shock, leaving himself open.

"If you don't want a reputation," Luffy said before swinging the boulder back at him. "Then don't be a pirate!"

* * *

**I never realized how much I dislike those kids until I started writing this arc... I find myself hating them... but I think it's because I don't have a lot of patience for kids... Anyway. I'm planning something neat for next chapter because If I'm not mistaken, one year ago next saturday is the day i published the first chapter of this series... I can't believe it's been so long...**

**~Shaded Truths~**


	18. Battle On The Slope: Final

**Me: "Hey gu-Gah!"**

**I am thrown back as a book hits me in the face and I look to see a very irate PR**

**PR: "What the hell!? You missed the update last week!"**

**Me: "I know! I'm sorry. I was gonna post last saturday but then that fell through."**

**PR: "Baka! You're lucky this chapter is long and has an omake!"**

**Me: "Yeah...anyway." :hits button and confetti rains down: "Last Saturday was the one year anniversary of when I posted The prologue for the first volume of the wings of freedom."**

**PR: "And yet...you're only on Volume Three."**

**I go and sit in the corner and a dark aura of despair appears.**

**PR: "Oh god." :rolls eyes: "Get out of my emo corner!"**

**Gnocx walks in as she says this.**

**PR: "Gnocx! 3 Happy late birthday!"**

**Gnocx: :looks over at me in the emo corner: "...thanks."**

**PR: "Ignore your idiot creator. He's drowning in his own self deprecation. Can you disclaim seeing as how dummy over there isn't exactly here to ask."**

**Me: :mumbles from corner: "Only volume three..."**

**Gnocx rolls his eyes. and looks to the camera.**

**Gnocx: "Shaded Truths didn't own anything last year and he still owns nothing now. I have to go, I have to go find Usopp and Luffy and shoot them with lightning bolts because they decided to feel me up in the omake."**

**PR: "Remember to get Zoro's booze!" :Gnocx walks out the door mumbling something along the lines of 'damn alcoholic'.**

**Me: :mumbling: "Zoro isn't an alcoholic, he just likes booze."**

**PR just stares at me with a bored look on her face.**

**PR: "Get the fuck out of my emo corner!"**

* * *

Chapter 18

"East! I said east!" Usopp cried from his place over Zoro's shoulder.

"Which way is east, damn it, left or right?" the frustrated, directionally challenged swordsman asked.

"It's this way, Zoro," Gnocx said, breaking off and going east.

"But that's the way we just came!" Zoro argued.

"Holy—we went in a straightline!" Gnocx shouted over his shoulder.

"Idiot!" Usopp shouted as he smacked Zoro on the back of the head.

"Hey!" Zoro screamed in frustration. "Don't make me drop you, asshole!"

* * *

A good distance away from the bickering trio, the kids and Kaya were concealing themselves behind a large rock. Several noises were heard as Jango kept throwing rings. The rings that had managed to slice through numerous trees, leaving perfectly clean cuts in their wake. Kaya was on her knees and the three kids were surrounding her, looking for Jango as he shouted for them.

"Kaya has a fever," Onion gasped. "We need a doctor."

"We don't have time for that!" Pepper whisper-shouted. "Someone's trying to kill her!"

"Come out you runts!" Jango yelled as he threw his ring randomly again.

"Thank you," Kaya whispered them. "For helping me, the thought is more than enough."

"I'll find you, brats!"

One by one, they lowered their weapons.

"The captain always said to run away with your tail between your legs…" Carrot said.

"If we leave Kaya…we could make it out ok," Onion said.

Kaya listened as they appeared to get the meaning of her words.

But then they picked their weapons up again.

"But the captain has always been a liar," they said together.

"He even went back on his own advice," Onion said, referring to how he fought instead of ran. "He risked his life to protect us."

"We swore to protect Kaya," Carrot added.

"Then let's do this," Pepper said as the put their weapons together.

"Stop this!" Kaya shouted, forgetting her volume. "You're kids, you don't stand a chance against him!"

"If we want to live, we have to fight for our lives," Carrot ignored her causing her to look at him. "Just like Captain always says."

But while they were building their morale, Jango had bent down to inspect footprints in the earth, and he looked forward to where the trail led.

"Gotcha," he smirked evilly.

* * *

Luffy, with the boulder still in hand, smirked down at Kuro, who lied face down on the ground, hissing while he held his head in the hand with the broken claws.

"That takes care of five of those weird swords," he said as he set it down. "Just five more to go."

Down below, Kuro's former men all gaped at him as their former confidence was slowly being drained.

"Get him Captain Kuro!" one of them cheered.

"Don't call him that!" another whispered. "He doesn't like it remember."

"I think in this village his name is…Klaha-something," another added.

After a moment cheers rang out again.

"Dice him up, Klaha-something!"

Kuro lifted his head, which had a stream of blood leaking down his face, to glare at them all.

"Be quiet!" he shouted as he stood up.

Luffy watched as he spread his remaining blades menacingly.

"Soon, I'll deal with you all accordingly…by extermination!" he exclaimed. "Then, I'll kill that fool, Jango too."

The crew was deathly silent before pleading voices from the crowd tried to sway him.

"This plan no longer concerns you, and when the villagers find you all dead, they will know who to blame for this atrocity," he monologued. "I never had planned to let any of you mongrels leave this island alive. No one who knows my true identity can be allowed to live to tell about it."

Luffy looked back and forth between Kuro and the terrified men.

"You guys are dumb," he added smartly. "You're the most uncool pirates I know."

"We're uncool, huh?" Kuro asked as he adjusted his glasses. "Pirates are nothing but savages, without a plan what good are they? A crew is useless to me; they are simply a means to an end. Crewmembers are just pawns in a captain's game. Whether or not my men live or die is completely up to me. If I order them to fight, they fight, and if they're ordered to die, they better do it. They know the punishment for disobedience."

His rant faltered and his eyes widened as he looked back at Luffy to see him staring at him with the same non-expressive face he had before he started. He grit his teeth and the vein in his forehead bulged before he exploded.

"This is how pirates are!" he bellowed. "Don't you dare talk down to me, boy!"

Luffy smirked which only served to fool Kuro's aggression.

"You know, as many hundreds or thousands of men may follow you as their captain," Luffy said. "You'll still never be as good as Usopp!"

Kuro's men started at his statement and looked fearfully at their own murderous captain.

"You fool," Kuro seethed. "Are you insinuating that I am inferior to a kid pretending to be a pirate?"

"That's right."

Kuro threw his head back and made no effort to restrain the laughter that cascaded from his gut.

"Well, aren't you funny, don't get cocky just because you snapped off one of my cat claws. How exactly is he better than me?"

Kuro began his pussy foot maneuver and vanished.

"What is it he's got?" Kuro's voiced came from no where and echoed around as he continued to move.

Luffy smirked as Kuro appeared behind him.

"He's got heart," he answered before planting his feet and throwing his fist in front of him.

Kuro's eyes widened as Luffy's appendage stretched before he brought it around, similar to his whip attack, and the back of his fist met Kuro's head and sent him into the rock wall.

His arm retracted and the men at the bottom gawked.

"Impossible! He kept up with the pussy foot maneuver!"

"How insulting," Kuro said as the smoke cleared and showed him, no more harmed than before as he smoothed his hair back. "It seems you need a lesson in what true pirates are like."

"It's not pleasant," he continued as he stood. "Your first lesson will be in terror. It's one I learned well as I stared down death!"

Kuro's arms grew lax and he started to sway back and forth, as if in a stupor, his remaining claw making clattering sounds, like a metronome.

At the bottom of the hill, they started to panic again.

"That stance…why is he using that attack!"

"He's only fighting one guy!"

"There's no reason to use the out of the bag attack!"

Luffy looked over his shoulder at the panicking vermin as Kuro continued his motions.

"This is bad! He could get us all too in this spot!"

"He did say he was gonna kill us all earlier!"

"Please, Captain Kuro, anything but that!"

_What's the big deal? _Luffy asked himself. _He's just wobbling._

Suddenly, the wind created a gentle breeze that washed over them. Luffy's eyes widened as Kuro smirked.

"Out of the bag attack!" he shouted before he disappeared again.

This was different from before, it appeared as though he vanished so quickly, the air itself was displaced and Luffy could feel the effects of it as his clothes rustled and his hair was tousled by the wind. He kept his eyes forward as he waited for Kuro to move.

A scream broke his concentration and he looked back down to see one of kuro's men flying through the air with slash marks on his chest.

"What's he doing down there?" Luffy exclaimed as another man was cut.

He looked to the side as slash marks appeared in the rocks next to him, but then a split second later, three more men were cut down.

"Don't do this!"

"There's no reasoning with him now that he started! He's moving so fast even he doesn't know what he's cutting!"

"But how can he be killing so many of us but—Gah!" one man tried before he too was cut down.

Luffy was shocked at the carnage below, he barely noticed when a small cut appeared on his chest and another on his forehead.

"Don't you have any honor!" He screamed as more men were cut down and scratches appeared on his arm and legs. "Those men are your friends!"

He was cut off as slash marks appeared on the rocks before a set of four claws raked into his stomach. Luffy faltered but sent his arm behind him, managing to snatch onto a shirt before heaving the man above him and slamming him onto the ground.

"Found you," Luffy gasped as Kuro quickly rose again.

"You bastard," Kuro sneered. "You should have accepted your fate like a good boy, now look what you've done. My pawns are still alive and in misery. It would have just been better to let them die in that attack."

Luffy looked over at his hat that lie on the ground.

"Something to say?" Kuro asked.

"Yeah," Luffy replied. "No matter what happens to me, I will never become like you."

Kuro sneered and lifted his claw to rest inches from Luffy's eyes.

"Wrong," he denied. "Someone like you, can never be someone like me."

They stared at each other momentarily before Kuro lowered his claw and backed up.

"You're going to die here today, but not before you writhe in agony as I hack you up like a fish. It will be torture, and I will enjoy it."

* * *

Jango followed the footprints to where they wound around a large rock and stopped. He smirked as he looked straight at the boulder.

"Come out, you brats! I know you're there!"

There was nothing but silence and the chirping of birds after his outburst, but then there was suddenly a white flag raised and flying back and forth.

"Huh?"

"We surrender!" Pepper called. "We'll give her up, just come here and we'll take you to her. Just don't kill us."

Jango smirked and shook his head.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked as he walked forward. "I won't fall for that, silly rugrats."

Their plan wasn't that simple, as Onion was hiding out in a bush. As he saw Jango come into view, he pulled on a rope that he had and it went out of the bush and to a tree, creating a line, that was meant to trip Jango, and sure enough, his ankle caught.

_Oh, damn it._ He chastised himself before he face planted.

"Now!" Pepper cried.

Onion shot out from his hiding spot, he had a surgical mask over his face as he stood over Jango, who had just flipped himself over and dumped something in his face.

"Pepper attack!" he cried as Jango started to sneeze.

As Jango sneezed, Carrot jumped out from behind the tree with his frying pan and brought it down right between Jango's legs…in his unmentionables.

Jango's face turned blue but he couldn't even express his agony as he couldn't stop sneezing.

On top of the boulder, the three kids converged and jumped for him.

"You're going down, hypnotist!" they cried.

Jango only turned and glared at them before shooting up and side stepping Pepper and Carrot before catching Onion by the throat in the air.

"Looks like you bit off more than you could chew," Jango mocked before mercilessly throwing Onion into a tree. "Real pirates don't take kindly to being mocked."

Pepper and Carrot soon joined Onion as they were both tossed at the same tree.

"Listen rich girl!" he shouted. "I know you're here! If you don't come out I'm going to execute these three little lambs! And I will do it in the most painful way imaginable, do not doubt my capability for such a task!"

Jango bent down to pick his hat up and place it back onto his head before he heard rustling. He looked over to see Kaya standing there. He smirked as the kids looked horrified.

"No!"

"Run Miss Kaya!"

"Run for your life!"

"Run for your life!"

* * *

Zoro, Gnocx, and Usopp both looked to the direction of the voice.

"Did you hear that?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah," Gnocx replied.

"Damn it," Zoro cursed. "It's coming from the opposite direction!"

"We told you, Jackass!" Usopp screamed.

"Shut up!" Zoro demanded. "You said east!"

"And we told you that you were going west, but did you listen?" Gnocx replied as they took off.

"Get off me!" Zoro glared at him as they ran.

* * *

"I'll write the will," Kaya told the hypnotist. "Just don't harm the children."

"No, Kaya!" they cried. "He'll kill you as soon as you do it."

She looked sadly over to them and bowed her head.

"Silly girl," Jango mocked. "You can't bargain with me. Captain Kuro specifically instructed me to get rid of everyone."

"No," she gasped as he took out a ring and looked at the kids.

Jango, the idiot he is, was too busy fantasizing about killing those brats to notice Kaya walk up and quickly snatch his ring from his hand.

"What!" he shouted, not expecting that.

"Do as I say or you can't kill me, and I won't write the will!" she demanded before moving the ring to her throat.

"Stop! Don't be hasty!" Jango panicked, not liking this turn.

"Don't do it!" Pepper yelled.

Jango glared at her before tsking.

"Fine, I'll let the little brats go, but in their condition they won't be making a quick getaway."

He then walked to her and lifted the ring from her hands before handing her a feather pen.

"Get to it."

A moment later she was writing on a piece of parchment on top of a tree stump that Jango had made by slicing the tree apart.

"Don't forget to sign your name," he told her as he looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," she grouched back.

The moment she signed it he snatched it and looked it over before smirking and putting it in his coat.

"Remember the agreement," she told him. "You won't kill those kids."

"Just relax," he oiled as he shoved her against another tree and held his ring out. "I may not look it, but I am considered an honest man."

The kids watched helplessly as Jango twirled the ring about his finger.

* * *

A short distance away Usopp started beating on Zoro's chest when he caught sight of them.

"Ouch, stop that!" Zoro yelled.

"Over there!" Usopp yelled, pointing to where he saw Jango pinning Kaya to the tree.

"On it," Gnocx told him as he veered direction and headed toward them.

"Wait for us," Zoro told Usopp before unceremoniously dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

"Stop, hypnotist freak," Zoro yelled as his more silent companion called one of his swords.

Kaya and Jango both looked over and their eyes widened.

"Crap, I was followed," Jango said. "Looks like I have to kill you quickly."

Neither he nor Kaya noticed that one of the kids was reaching for their previously discarded shovel.

* * *

Luffy stood unflinching as slashes appeared on the rocks around him as Kuro was flashing through the area, reigning destruction as he went. He then leaned back and was narrowly able to avoid the swishing of Kuro's claw as he reappeared in front of Luffy with a smirk on his face. In another flash, Kuro was behind Luffy.

"You must be getting tired, dancing around like that," Luffy observed, turning to face him again.

"Don't get cocky, brat," Kuro warned before swaying and vanishing again.

Luffy immediately threw an arm out to the side and it crashed into the wall, he retracted it and threw them both behind him, each impacting something and creating a dust cloud. One of his hands retracted and he let himself fly into the smoke to latch onto his prize.

"What the," Kuro yelled, struggling as Luffy wrapped his legs around his torso and his arms around Kuro's keeping them spread apart and his claw out of range. "Get off me!"

"That kid managed to catch him," one of the pirates marveled. "If he wins, then Captain Kuro won't kill us!"

Luffy's eye twitched and he slammed his forehead into Kuro's stunning the man so Luffy could throw his head back and extend his neck far enough so he could glare into the faces of the men.

"Shut up!" he shouted. "You have no right to cheer for me!"

* * *

"Time to die," Jango gleamed as he moved to slice Kaya's neck open.

"Oh, no you don't," Pepper said right before all three kids took the shovel that they had picked up and shoved the pointed end right into Jango's backside.

He made a painful noise as his grip on Kaya faltered, but was able to recover quickly enough and with one kick, sent all three kids back to the ground. Paying them no more attention, he whipped around and grabbed kaya again.

"Looks like you idiots were too late!" he told Gnocx and Zoro as they got closer.

"Not quite," Zoro smirked before he dipped to the side.

Gnocx had looked back and saw Usopp lining a shot while Jango had been dealing with the children, the only thing was that there was a branch in Usopp's crosshairs and it needed to go, so with a quick swipe and a dive to the ground, the branch was gone and Gnocx was out of firing range.

"Thanks," Usopp told them as he lined up his shot correctly. "Eat this, hypnotist!"

"Do it, Captain!" the three kids egged on.

* * *

"Let go of me!" Kuro said as he regained his senses and resumed his efforts to dislodge his opponent.

"Gum Gum," Luffy's voice reverberated through the area.

* * *

"Exploding star!" Usopp shouted before releasing his yellow pellet.

Kaya screamed as the projectile impacted with Jango's face, exploding and sending his ridiculous glasses flying.

* * *

"You insect!" Kuro screamed as Luffy's head came flying back at them. "My plan will absolutely not be disrupted!"

"Bell!" Luffy finished announcing his attack as his forehead met Kuro's in a massive head butt, with force enough to send both men flying.

Kuro's eyes immediately rolled back into his head as they both flipped in the air and Luffy made his legs release their hold. The Black Cat Captain landed gracelessly in a heap face down while Luffy landed in a crouched position.

The men at the bottom all looked on astonished as Luffy got back onto his feet and had his back to them.

"He…he beat him."

"Not even the marines could beat the man with a thousand plans!"

"Just who are you?"

Luffy turned to his side and looked down at them all.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and the only reason a pirate should abandon his name is if he dies. There was no way I was going to lose to a coward who discarded his name, betrayed his friends, and left the life on the sea."

"Uh…Never heard of him," one of the men said to the rest.

"Remember it," Luffy told them before grinning. "One of these days I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."

"You are?"

Luffy bent down and grabbed the back of Kuro's collar. He hoisted the man up and threw him over his shoulder and down to the bottom of the hill.

"Now get out of here!" Luffy screamed at them as their Captain's motionless body hit the ground. "And don't come back!"

They didn't need to be told twice, those pirates fled screaming.

As they ran away, Nami, who had been on their ship stealing what treasure they had, came running back to Luffy. She paused when she got close enough and saw his eyes slip shut. She held out her arm as Luffy's body tipped over and she caught him before he fell to the ground.

"You did good," she told him before lowering him so he was laying on the ground and looking at the sky. "Of course you'd collapse after all that."

She sat down beside him and stared.

"Why were you so angry at them?" she asked him.

"Because I hate people like them," he told her. "That isn't right, that's not how friends act."

Nami clenched her teeth but then quit before she reached over and plucked his hat from the ground.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, fingering his hat. "Of course it isn't. Most pirates aren't those brave, honorable people you make them out to be. I'd say Captain Kuro is pretty standard."

Luffy momentarily flicked his eyes over to her before staring back into the sky.

"I want some meat," he finally said.

"You're unbelievable!" Nami yelled, shoving his hat in his face and cutting of his air.

* * *

Zoro and Gnocx were standing over Jango's unconscious body. Gnocx had long since dismissed his weapon and Zoro was tying his bandana over his arm once again.

"Well that was fun," he said to Gnocx as they both turned and walked away.

"If you say so," Gnocx deadpanned before waving his hand over his face and letting a green light heal the cuts on his face.

Zoro rolled his eyes at his actions and crossed his arms.

"That still creeps me out, I have no idea how you do it."

"Magic," Gnocx said.

Zoro only rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Hey, guys," Usopp addressed the kids. "Would you mind keeping this all a secret?"

"What?" Carrot asked. "Why would you want to keep this a secret?"

"Yeah, we put our lives on the line and saved the village!" Pepper added.

"They'll change their opinion of you," Onion argued. "You won't be Usopp the Liar anymore, you'll be Usopp the Hero!"

"You really should clear this up, Usopp," Kaya told him.

"There's no point in scaring them with something that's already done," Usopp replied. "Besides, I doubt any more pirates like Kuro and his gang will show up. So pretend this didn't happen."

The kids all stared at him before voicing their agreement and cheering, Kaya shook her head in amusement but agreed as well.

* * *

Kaya and the kids went back to the village and Usopp made his way back to the slope, where Luffy and Nami were in their same spots, only now Zoro was sitting against the wall and Gnocx was healing some of the bigger injuries on Luffy's body.

"It feels so warm," Luffy said with starry eyes. "Cool!"

Gnocx only sweat dropped as Nami rolled her eyes.

"What devil fruit did you eat?" she asked him as he finished with Luffy.

Gnocx only rolled his eyes at her as Luffy opened his mouth.

"He didn't eat a devil fruit Nami, are you stupid?"

"Shut up you!" she demanded.

"Space Guy!" Luffy addressed. "Do it to Nami so she knows how cool it feels!"

"No thanks," the girl in question answered for him.

"She's fine," Gnocx deadpanned as he sat down.

"Why does he call you that?" Usopp asked, announcing his prescence.

"Usopp!" Luffy cried, smiling at him.

"What?" Gnocx asked.

"Well, why does he call you Space Guy? That's not your name."

"I'd like to know that too," Nami agreed. "Zoro, tell us!"

"What the hell?" he grouched. "Leave me out of it!"

Luffy beamed as they all argued with eachother.

"Because he fell from the sky, Nami!" Luffy explained.

"Huh?" Nami and Usopp both grunted.

Gnocx only rubbed his temples while Zoro side eyed him.

"Well…anyway," Usopp began. "Thanks for the help guys; I couldn't have defended the village without you."

"Don't sell yourself short," Zoro told him. "If you had done nothing than so would I."

"Same here," Luffy agreed.

"I only helped because they did," Gnocx told him bluntly.

"Who cares about any of that?" Nami gushed as she held her treasure bag close. "I have this sweet treasure now and couldn't be happier."

Usopp chuckled at her before looking above all their heads, straight out onto the horizon.

"I've made a tough decision," he finally spoke.

* * *

"As Captain, I'm very proud of how you fought those Black Cat Pirates," Usopp told the kids.

He had gathered them at their normal meeting place away from the village, the Strawhats were in town and Usopp decided to announce his decision to his 'crew'. The kids started to rub their heads sheepishly with goofy grins on their faces.

"I've decided," he started off before smiling and looking up to the sky. "I'm going to set out to sea myself. That battle helped me to make this decision. It's time."

Despite his smile, his eyes were closed and the corners of his mouth were twitching.

"I'm finally gonna leave this place and become a real pirate, heheh."

The three stared wide eyed as Usopp's words sank in. There were no words spoken from them as Usopp ran to the edge of the cliff and threw his hands into the air.

"When the flag beckons, you have no choice but to heed its' call!" he exclaimed.

The three followers were finally spurred to action.

"Say it isn't so, Captain!" Carrot shouted. "You're lying again, right?"

"Don't be hasty!" Pepper advised. "There's no reason to leave, I thought you loved this village."

"What's gonna happen to the Usopp Pirates without you?" Onion dismayed.

Usopp didn't move and kept his back to them.

"You guys have been so good to me," he told them. "I was planning to leave without telling the villagers, give them my regards."

"No captain," Onion whispered as they all started to sniffle and shake.

"Remember this place guys?" Usopp asked them, gesturing around. "This is where we first met and formed the Usopp Pirates. We agreed to follow our ambitions, so tell me, what are yours?"

"I wanna own a pub when I grow up," Carrot confessed.

"I want to be a master carpenter!" Pepper exclaimed.

"And I want to be a writer!" Onion added.

"Good! Now follow your dreams and…from this day forward…our group, The Usopp Pirates…is disbanded!" Usopp ordered tearfully.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luffy and his crew were in the same restaurant that Usopp had taken them too when they first arrived. Zoro had just finished guzzling down his booze as Nami had her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands as she watched Luffy chew on a fishbone. Gnocx was seated next to her staring out the window.

"Now that we've eaten, we should probably go," Zoro advised after he set his cup down.

"Yeah," Nami agreed before making to stand up.

They heard the bell ring as someone entered the restaurant.

"Oh, it's you guys."

They all looked over and were surprised to see Kaya, out and looking well, waving at them.

"It's Kaya," Luffy observed.

"Are you sure you're alright to be out of bed?" Nami asked as Kaya walked over to their table.

"Yes, I think I can finally really start recovering," she replied. "I think it was the mental shock of losing my parents that had me bedridden all this time. I can't stay in bed forever you know."

Nami and Zoro smirked and Gnocx's eyes moved from the window to her.

Suddenly the background noise stopped and Gnocx seemed to drift.

_He's awake! He's awake! _'s awake!_

Gnocx had no idea that his face turned contemplative and remained unaware that Luffy and Zoro had both noticed.

"I have a very special present to give you all," Kaya told them, unaware of one of the member's mental absence. "It's to show my appreciation for all you've done here. I'd be honored if you'd accept it."

"Sure," Nami told her as Luffy nodded.

"Come with me, then," she told them and turned to walk out of the restaurant.

"Come on, guys," Nami told them before she caught their questioning looks.

She followed her gaze over to Gnocx who was just staring straight ahead, forehead creased and eyes slightly glazed.

"What's wrong with him?" Nami muttered, to which Zoro shrugged.

"He checked out a minute ago," Zoro replied.

Luffy reached over and waved his hand in front of Gnocx's face to receive no reaction.

"Hey, what's going on?" Nami asked, slightly worried. She reached out to touch his shoulder but Luffy's hand caught her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Maybe he's remembering something," Luffy mused as he stared in slight wonder as Gncox's eyes started to dart to random places, still glazed.

"What is he talking about?" Nami asked Zoro.

Zoro just eyed her in a 'be quiet' sort of way.

In his mind the voice continued.

__'s awake! Come on!_

The voice was like a mere echo. Gnocx could barely make out that it was female.

_Get the Master! _It shouted gleefully. _He's okay!_

While he heard the voice, he could not see a face or really anything. Then he blinked and was met with Luffy's curious gaze just inches from his own.

"Luffy…why are you in my face?" Gnocx asked.

Luffy had been concentrating on looking and didn't notice when he started to invade Gnocx's personal space.

"What happened to you?" Luffy asked in return as he backed off.

"Yeah, you liked zoned out, that's not like you," Nami said.

"I did?" Gnocx asked her. "How long?"

"Couple minutes," Zoro supplied.

Gnocx's eyebrow furrowed again.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"Oh yeah!" Nami suddenly remembered. "Kaya wanted to give us something, we gotta go!"

"Let's go then," Gnocx readily agreed, if only to get the bloodhound that was Luffy distracted.

* * *

"A real caravel!" Nami exclaimed as they arrived at one of the island's shores.

"Are you actually giving this to us?" Luffy asked, jaw hitting the floor.

"Yep," Kaya replied. "As a token of my appreciation."

Merry, who had been there getting the ship ready, began to speak.

"It's an older model, but I designed it myself and it sails like a dream. She's a fine ship and her name is, The Going Merry."

He looked over at Luffy.

"Now, let me explain the rigging," Merry continued, but Nami threw herself in front of Luffy.

"Wait a minute, you'll be better off just explaining the technical stuff to me," she deadpanned.

"What a cool ship," Luffy appreciated as Nami and Merry did indeed talk about the technical stuff. "Look at the front."

At the front of the ship was a figurehead in the shape of a lamb, oddly similar to Merry himself.

"We loaded it with the provisions for a long voyage," Kaya told him.

"Meaning that if we're not careful, Luffy will have eaten all our food in two days," Gnocx deadpanned causing Zoro to nod.

"Thanks," Luffy told her. "It leaves nothing to be tired."

"Nothing to be desired," Gnocx corrected.

"Moron," Zoro finished.

Suddenly they heard the sound of something coming toward them from on top of the hill nearby. Accompanying was some familiar screaming. Eyebrows rose as a large, round, green mass came out of nowhere and started rolling toward them. Once it got close enough they could make it out to be an overly stuffed pack with Usopp attached to it.

"Oh no," Kaya gasped as Luffy and Zoro stepped forward.

"That looks fun," Luffy said.

"We need to stop him, he's on a collision course with our boat," Zoro scowled as both he and Luffy lifted a foot.

Then they put their feet in front of them and they easily stopped Usopp's roll, unfortunately for him, their feet had implanted in his face.

"Hey, thanks guys," Usopp mumbled sarcastically as tears of pain streamed comically down his face.

"No problem," Luffy replied.

After Usopp unstrapped himself, the four crewmembers left him and Kaya alone and began to climb aboard the Merry.

"So, you're heading out to sea?" Kaya asked.

"Yeah," Usopp replied. "Before I change my mind, please don't stop me."

"I won't," Kaya assured him.

"Don't be sad," he advised. "Just think, when I come back, I can tell you more stories of adventures and they won't sound like my old lies."

"Good," she nodded. "I look forward to the day."

Usopp nodded back and waved to the crew on the Merry.

"You guys take care, maybe we'll see each other on the seas one day."

"How come?" Luffy asked dumbly, with a certain gleam in his eye that made Zoro blanch and Gnocx roll his eyes.

"Well, because…" Usopp frowned before sighing. "What are you antisocial or something? I'm heading out to sea and I hope we meet again someday."

"Just get on the ship, Usopp," Zoro said.

"Huh?" Usopp grunted.

"We're friends, right?" Luffy asked. "So get on."

Usopp stared and his lips slightly parted, before he smiled and jumped for joy.

"It's happening! I'm finally a pirate captain now!"

"Don't be stupid! I'm the captain!" Luffy glared.

Nami laughed at their antics.

"And I'm still the only sane one on the ship," Gnocx sighed, causing Zoro to laugh.

"Don't lump me in with them, asshole!" Nami snarled.

And they set sail even with the laughter and bickering.

* * *

**Omake**

"What the hell are you doing?" Gnocx asked Usopp as the long nose grabbed his sleeve.

"Do you have some kind of inflammatory mechanism up your sleeve, or one of those fancy things you can pull a sword out of?" Usopp asked him as he stuck his fingers up Gnocx's sleeve, feeling up his arm in search of any machinery or tools.

"What are you talking about?" Gnocx glared at the teen as Luffy walked up to the deck they were on.

"What are you guys doing?" Luffy asked. "You look like weirdos."

"You are in no position to be saying that, Luffy," Gnocx replied. "Ask this one here feeling me up."

Usopp glared in annoyance at Gnocx before looking over at Luffy.

"I'm trying to figure out how he does the trick with his swords and those fireballs. I'm an inventor and mechanisms like that are my specialties."

Luffy walked up to them and cocked his head.

"Do you really have some machine doing these things, Space Guy," Luffy asked as he grabbed his other arm and mimicked Usopp's actions. "That's so uncool."

"Listen," he said, pulling his arms away. "It's not some gadget.

He rolled up his sleeve and held out that arm. Then his sword appeared in a shower of sparks. Luffy's eyes went starry while Usopp looked like he might relieve himself. Then, he made his sword disappear and held his hand out toward the ocean.

"Fire," he uttered and a fireball flew out over the open ocean.

"Cool!" Luffy shouted. "Now freeze something!"

"I'm not some side show," Gnocx twitched before putting his arm down. "And anyway, you idiots, I'm wearing short sleeves."

Usopp put his hands together, getting over his earlier shock.

"Devil Fruit," he concluded. "You ate one like Luffy did and now are a freak like him."

"No," Zoro yawned as he walked up onto the deck with them. "Luffy and I saw him in water a while back."

"Yep," Luffy confirmed. "He floated."

"But, but…how?" Usopp asked, baffled, and a little bit frightened.

"Magic," Gnocx replied…again.

Usopp only blinked at him while Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Duh, Usopp," Luffy mocked. "He is our Magician after all."

"Whatever," Gnocx dismissed as he walked off.

"Magic doesn't exist," Usopp argued with them.

Zoro only sat down and yawned again before closing his eyes and leaning against the wall.

"He's from space, so it could exist there, right, Space Guy?"

"Why do you call him that?" Usopp screamed. "And there's no way he's from outer space!"

Gnocx walked down to the lower part of the deck and he ran into Nami who smirked with amusement.

"You do realize they won't leave you alone until you fess up," she told him.

He only side eyed her.

"I need a drink," he admitted before heading into the galley.

"Get me one," Zoro called from above.

"You have two legs and a heartbeat, get your ass down here," Gnocx replied, forcing the irritation in his voice.

Zoro contemplated getting up and going down to the galley just to kill the other man as he watched Usopp and Luffy continue their silly debate.

* * *

**Finally that arc is done! Hallefuckinglujah! Now...announcement...I'm sorry I didn't update last week but I'm citing the age old excuse of my life getting in the way. But I must tell you that there won't be an update next friday either, and the reason that is is because my sister is getting married that day, so I won't have time to do anything this week really, but on the 21st there will be another 'double chapter' like this one...although I can't promise an omake. Anyway, I thought that I should give Gnocx some screen time so I gave him that memory flash, and yes there was a name blocked out in the voice. It won't be that easy, for him, or for you readers. ;) Until next time**

**~Shaded Truths~**


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